The Perfect Change
by Mariella616
Summary: Dr. Talisa Oliveira helps a student who reports an attack. Once she becomes involved in her friend's case, that means working with Detective Carisi and ADA Rafael Barba and maybe getting personal with them eventually. *wink wink*
1. Chapter 1

Talisa Oliveira twiddled her fingers in her lap as she stared at the door to the interview room. She sat in the stiff chair that was beside a detective's desk. About 25 minutes ago Talisa had watched her student, Avery Riddle, enter the interview room with the detective whose desk she was seated next to. He had been tall and had kind, blue eyes and dark blonde hair. It was extremely late, well, early actually. Around three in the morning and he seemed to be the only one on duty at this hour. Talisa scrunched her eyebrows together as she attempted to recall the name of the detective. His name wouldn't come back to her, so she opted to lean forward in her chair in search of the name plate on his desk. _Ah, right_. She thought as she spotted it. The plate read: Det. Dominick Carisi. Talisa's gaze once again flashed to the interview room door at the sound of the blinds rustling as it opened and Detective Carisi popped his head out.

"Miss Oliveira, you can come in now," he said, motioning for her to enter the room with his hand.

Talisa stood and headed into the small space with a conference table and chairs surrounding it. She sat down next to Avery and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Avery gave her small smile in return as Detective Carisi shut the door and sat back down across from the women.

"Okay, so, Avery has given me all the details she can recall from her attack." Detective Carisi explained to Talisa. "Now, Miss Oliveira, as her outcry witness I'll need to get your account of the last few hours starting from when Avery first came to you."

"Sure, of course…" Talisa began with a deep breath and a glance in Avery's direction. "Well, at about one in the morning I was awakened by my phone ringing…"

Talisa continued with her description of the last few hours' events and the few details Avery had told her about her assault and attacker. As she spoke, Detective Carisi nodded occasionally and made notes on a legal pad in front of him.

When Talisa wrapped up her statement, the tall detective nodded to himself again and pulled his phone out of his back pocket, giving it a little wiggle in his hand. "I'm just going to make a call real quick, then we can all head over to the emergency room so a doctor can check you out, Avery, and also so a nurse can collect evidence from the assault. Is that all right with you?" He asked with a sympathetic look.

"Yes, that's fine." Avery's response came out in barely more than a whisper and she stared into her lap.

Detective Carisi's eyes darted to Talisa's face and she gave him a sharp nod in agreement. He stood and headed out of the interview room.

Later that morning, after the exams and the blood draws and the invasive questions were through, Talisa stepped out of her student's hospital room and drew the door closed behind her, allowing Avery to redress in private.

"How's she doing?" Detective Carisi's baritone voice snapped Talisa out of her temporary fog.

"Oh. Better, I think. But, you know, still awful." Her voice trailed off at the end of her statement.

"Yeah. Yeah, I get it."

Talisa walked over to the other side of the hallway were the detective was standing and leaned her upper back against the wall beside him. The cool tile helped to calm her frayed nerves from the night as she pressed back into it.

"You hear about this sort of thing and never think it could actually happen to you or someone you know… you know?" She didn't wait for him to answer the rhetorical question before continuing. "I've been a professor for the last 4 years at Columbia and have been living in New York for only slightly longer than that. Truthfully, I've never felt unsafe anywhere in the city. Much less on campus. I do try to be smart and aware of my surroundings and all that, but I…" Her rambling speech caught in her throat as the emotion of the evening finally swept over her. Her body folded in half as a sob came out. She quickly put one hand over her mouth to stifle the cry and placed her other hand on her right knee to support herself. The compassionate detective instantly moved to circle his arms around her and pulled her up. She placed her head on his chest as the tears began to fall.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry." He softly shushed and rubbed his hands comfortingly up and down her back.

After a few moments, Talisa took a deep breath and put her palms on his chest and pressed back from him slowly. "No, geez, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. Nothing even happened _to me_." She shook her head and swiped at her eyes with the backs of her hands fervently trying to clear the tears before Avery came out and saw her. She had to be strong for her.

"It's still a trauma to see this happen to someone you know and care about. Perfectly normal reaction. Don't be so hard on yourself." He consoled her.

"Thank you, Detective Carisi."

"Hey, please call me Sonny." He smiled.

Talisa returned a small smile and nodded. "Sonny. Thank you."

He reached into the inside breast pocket of his suit coat and retrieved a business card. Handing it to her he said, "Please call if you or Avery think of anything else. Even if you don't think it seems important. It could be." He smiled that caring smile of his and added, "Or if you ever need to talk feel free to call for that, too."

"We will. I will." Talisa smiled in return and pocketed the card as the door to Avery's room opened.

"Hey. All ready." Avery said quietly as she exited the room.

Talisa stepped over to her and looped her arm around her shoulder. "Let's get you home."


	2. Chapter 2

Rumors spread quickly, especially on a college campus and before she knew it, the whole University was abuzz with gossip about the attack on Avery. Girls were worried to walk alone or even in small groups of less than at least four. The day of the attack was a Saturday morning and now it was Friday afternoon and Talisa was in her office on campus, fine-tuning a lecture for the coming week. As she picked up a red pen to cross out a line of speech, her phone buzzed beside her on the desk.

"Hello?"

"Hi there, is this Talisa Oliveira?"

"It is. Can I help you?"

"Hey, yeah, this is Detective Carisi from the Special Victim's Unit."

"Of course. Sonny, right?" She smiled into the phone.

"You got it." She was pretty sure she heard him smiling back. "Listen, we've got Avery down here and she IDed the guy out of our lineup. So the next step is to start putting together the case against him. And as Avery's outcry witness you'll be a part of that."

"Absolutely. Whatever I can do." Talisa interjected.

"Great. I'm going to give your number to our ADA. His name is Rafael Barba and his assistant, Carmen, will contact you in the next few days to arrange a time to meet and go over your testimony."

"That will be no problem. I can make time for this no matter what." She stated firmly. "I'm so glad you've already apprehended this maniac. And I'm sure Avery is going to be able to sleep better now."

"She's been a real trooper. Really seems to have it together." He said.

"I agree. She's an excellent student and I don't think she's going to let this horrible time in her life disrupt the path she's on. I've always been impressed by her and continue to be. I don't know if I could do it."

"Better not to have to find out, right?"

"Heh. Right."

"Right. Well, thanks again for being so available. I guess I'll be seeing you at the courthouse."

"Okay then. Thank you for calling and keeping me updated. I really appreciate it, Sonny."

"You're certainly welcome. Bye now."

"Bye." She hung up the phone and stared down at her notes and sighed. Maybe taking it home would be better. She gathered everything up and stuffed it into her computer bag, slinging it over her shoulder.

Monday morning had begun and Talisa sat at her breakfast bar in her cozy two-bedroom apartment. She loved her place. It was a decent size and she actually had a doorman and an elevator. No more fourth floor walkups for her. That time in her life was over. She gripped her coffee cup and enjoyed the warmth that oozed into her hands through the ceramic mug. She'd worked hard to get to where she was and truly enjoyed the fruits of her labor. She did so well in her undergrad at UVA that she got a substantial scholarship to go to Georgetown University where she finished a masters and a doctorate in religious studies. With numerous recommendations and the support of several faculty at Georgetown she was given an associate professorship at her alma mater immediately after she graduated. Being twice published in prestigious journals during the five years she worked at Georgetown meant that she was noticed by other universities looking to hire a full time religion professor. She passed on a few offers before deciding, almost on a whim, to leave Virginia and DC for New York City. When the offer from Columbia came in she was just a few months off of a break-up. Not a bad one, really, more like a fizzled-out relationship, and she really needed a change. New York was definitely the change she was looking for and it was everything she wanted. The University treated her wonderfully and she'd made some good friends among the faculty in the four years she'd been here. Not to mention she completely adored the access to shows, plays, and comedy that the city presented. As far as her romantic life went, there had only been one man in her life for longer than two dates. Again, it had been a relationship that lasted about a year and then just fizzled out towards the end. Talisa was on the look-out for a partner that could bring some passion into her world. Taking a small sip to test the temperature of her coffee she started a little as her phone buzzed in her back pocket.

Not recognizing the New York number, she answered anyway. "This is Dr. Oliveira." She didn't always use her doctoral title, but every once in a while she threw it out there just to hear it.

"Talisa Oliveira?" Came the deep voice on the other end.

"Yes, this is she. Who is calling?"

"Ah. I didn't realize you were a doctor… this is ADA Rafael Barba from the Manhattan DA's office. I believe you were notified that I'd be calling?"

"Yes! Of course. Detective Carisi let me know last week. Sorry to throw you with the 'doctor' bit. I don't think I ever told the police about my PhD."

"I see. That's no problem." He paused. She heard papers shuffling. "I'm needing probably about an hour or maybe two with you to go over your outcry witness testimony. Are you available tomorrow? I know it's soon…" He trailed off expectantly.

"Tomorrow is fine for me. I'll make any time work. I really want to help Avery in any way I can. You just tell me when and I will be there, Mr. Barba."

"That's excellent, thank you. Let's say 10am?"

"Absolutely. Tell me again where to go?" She got a pen ready to write down his instructions. "Perfect. I will see you in the morning." She said and they both said their goodbyes. Talisa got to work cancelling her class the next day that was at 1pm. Maybe she'd make it back in time, but she'd rather not risk it.


	3. Chapter 3

Talisa made her way through the large office building, following Mr. Barba's instructions to reach his personal office. She entered the anteroom that was a cool teal color and had a few chairs for waiting and his assistant's desk. The assistant, Carmen, looked up as Talisa walked in and announced herself.

"Hi. I'm Talisa Oliveira. Here to meet with Mr. Barba about the Avery Riddle case."

Carmen gave her a welcoming smile. "You're right on time. Go on in." She motioned to the door across the room from the entrance Talisa was standing in.

Talisa nodded at Carmen politely and headed through the door emblazoned 'ADA Rafael Barba'.

The room she walked into had muted sage green walls and dark, heavy furniture. Pretty much exactly what she had pictured in her head. A man with tan skin and well-coiffed brown hair sat behind the large desk with his eyes down scanning some papers in front of him. He looked up as she entered and the first thing she noticed were his intense green eyes. The second thing she noticed as he stood up to greet her were his coordinated tie, suspenders and shirt combination. All in varying shades of orange over navy blue suit pants and a matching suit coat which she noticed on a coat rack by the door as she shut it behind her. He gave her a tight smile as he shook her hand firmly, also taking in her appearance. She had blonde hair in a pixie cut that included bangs that swooped across her forehead, brushing the tops of her eyebrows. Her eyes were also a shade of green, but more in the hazel family. She had chosen to forego heavy makeup and settled on mascara and a maroon-tinted lip gloss with a little sparkle. She had also decided on fairly demure clothing. Sticking to black slacks that were wider at the bottom, a green top that had a square neckline and three quarter length sleeves and black, pointy pumps. Since it was mid-October, she had gone without a jacket and enjoyed the slight chill to the air.

"Mr. Barba, I'm pleased to meet you." She said as she shook his hand with a solid grip.

"Same here, Dr. Oliveira. Thank you so much for coming in on such short notice."

"Oh, please, call me Talisa. Or Tal. That's what most people call me."

He smiled warmly at her this time and gestured to the table in the center of the room. "Of course, Talisa, please have a seat."

She pulled out one of the wooden chairs and sat down, crossing her right leg over her left knee and putting her purse on the table top.

Mr. Barba pulled the adjacent chair out and turned it slightly to face her. He had grabbed a file from his desk, along with a legal pad and a pen. These items he set on the table in front of him, opening the file and pushing some papers around. "Okay," he began, jumping right in, "If I remember correctly, Miss Riddle called you, around 1am and then you went to where she was to help her. Is that right?"

"That's correct. She called, I threw on some clothes, grabbed my purse and left my apartment, going straight to Avery. I found her sitting on the steps to the building my class is taught in. She was clearly distraught and her clothing looked disheveled. I debated on whether to take her straight to a hospital or a police precinct… Ultimately I decided to take her to the police so that she could give a statement. I thought that would be best to do first so that her memory of the incident would be fresh. Also," she quickly added, "I confirmed with her that she wasn't seriously injured in a way that needed immediate medical attention."

"Good. That's all in your previous statement with Detective Carisi. Now, what exactly did Miss Riddle tell you about what happened to her?" Mr. Barba's eyes glanced up from the legal pad as he finished a note there.

"Well," Talisa swallowed and sat up straighter, leaning her left elbow on the table. "When I put her in the taxi and we started toward the police station she began to cry and told me that she'd been walking home from a friend's place to her off-campus apartment…"

"Alone?" ADA Barba interrupted her train of speech.

"Yes. She said it was about midnight and she'd made the walk many times the past couple of months." Talisa paused until Mr. Barba finished scratching ink onto the yellow notepad and looked back up at her. "Do you think that will matter, Mr. Barba?"

He dropped the pen and pushed one of his thumbs into his right temple as he squeezed his eyes shut briefly. "You know, it shouldn't. It shouldn't at all. Unfortunately, details like that sometimes prejudice a jury. Make them think she was being reckless with her safety – that she should have known better." He shook his head as he continued. "It's absolutely asinine, but things like this play a part in whether or not I can get a conviction. And please, call me Rafael while we aren't in a courtroom." He added that last part with a gentle smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes for a moment.

"I get it. I really do." Talisa sighed. "Should I continue?"

"Yes, please."

"So, Avery was headed for her apartment, on 111th street, and was nearly there when someone in a dark hoodie popped out from behind a bush or out of a doorway. I'm not 100% clear on that detail. She got pushed into the back portion of an SUV. I guess the seats had been stowed or whatever, so there was room back there for Avery and her assailant to be laying down. She said someone was driving, but couldn't see them." Talisa took a small breath and wet her lips in a quick movement before continuing on. "Avery said she got pushed in on her front and her attacker kept her that way. She said he… he tugged her pants down her legs… and shoved his…" Talisa cleared her throat quickly as her eyes got misty.

Rafael looked up at her from his note taking and noticed her distress. "I know it's difficult. Can I get you a glass of water, perhaps?"

"If it wasn't 10:30 in the morning I'd prefer a vodka, but water would be sufficient for now." She joked. "I don't know why this is so hard to say… it didn't happen to me, I'm just relaying a story. I know I need to be more detached. I'm making it too personal since Avery is one of my favorite students."

Rafael returned to the table and sat back down, placing a tall glass of water in front of Talisa. "Don't worry about it. This is why we practice, so that the shock of saying it all aloud is not hitting you on the witness stand. And definitely don't worry about trying to detach yourself. The emotion and the rawness will actually play well to a jury."

Talisa nodded at all this after taking a long sip of water. "Thanks, Rafael. Um, okay. I'm good to go on now." He motioned his hand at her to continue. "So, Avery was on her stomach in the back of the car and the assailant pulled down her pants and underwear and jammed himself into her from behind over and over until he had had enough. Then the tailgate opened up and the guy kicked her out hard and she tumbled onto the street. When she got herself up and managed to orient herself she saw that she was closer to campus than her apartment and went somewhere she felt safe. Her purse was the kind that was around her neck – a crossbody purse – and luckily she still had it on and her phone was in it. That's when she called me. And I guess that's where our stories converge. More or less."

Rafael finished what he was writing and underlined a couple things higher up on the legal pad. "Okay. I think that about covers what I need to hear from you as far as the outcry statement goes." He made eye contact and said, "Now, I have to ask you some personal things that may or may not be brought up by the defense counsel. You ready?"

Talisa's eyes widened a little, but she consented with a bob of her head. "I didn't know about this part, but lay it on me."

He chuckled a little at her comment and tapped the pen on the notepad absentmindedly. "Great, I appreciate the cooperation. All right, first question: Have you ever reported a rape before? Your own or anyone else's?"

Talisa shook her head tightly and pursed her lips. "Never."

"Are you currently involved with someone or when did you last relationship end if you aren't?"

Talisa's eyebrows raised ever so slightly. "Not currently involved, no. And I suppose my last serious relationship ended about… 8 months ago?" Her voice went up at the end of her statement as she tried to decide if that was close enough to accurate. Rafael's pen continued to _scritch-scratch_ as he annotated her response. "Then there was Dylan, who I went on two dates with back in early August. Super exciting stuff, my life." She scoffed a bit at herself.

"More exciting than my love life." Rafael muttered under his breath. He looked up with a sheepish grin and added. "I don't think I've dated anyone seriously in five years."

Talisa shrugged her shoulders a bit and sat back in a more relaxed position. "Hey, it is what it is, right? Us folks with our important jobs; me, molding young minds. You, putting criminals behind bars." She gave him a lopsided smile and re-crossed her legs.

He nodded solemnly in agreement. "This… is very true."

Her smile broadened at his pretend seriousness. "Any more personal questions, Counselor?"

"Ah, yes. Why do you think Miss Riddle decided to call _you_ that night?"

"Oh. Well, that's a good question. I've rolled this one around my head quite a bit since that night. I haven't actually asked Avery why she chose me because I felt that would be like saying I wished she hadn't. Which isn't true. At all. I feel like I'm truly accomplishing my teaching goals when my students come to me for things other than class work. My office hours have been the same since I arrived at Columbia and I hope to never change them. That way current and former students always know when and where to find me at least once a week. Wednesdays from 4 to 8pm I am always available in my office… I guess what I'm saying is: I think Avery called me because she considers me a friend." Talisa smiled as she added the last bit. "Of the slightly older and more adult variety, that is. I don't accept invitations to 'party' or 'hang-out' with students to keep things professional, of course."

"That makes sense. Miss Riddle felt like you could handle her situation and help her through it." Rafael said thoughtfully, finishing his writing.

"Exactly."

"All right, good. I think I am all done here." Mr. Barba abruptly scooped up his file and knocked it against the table so the papers fell into place.

"Oh, okay then. That wasn't too bad." Talisa uncrossed her legs and slid her purse onto her lap.

Rafael stood and walked to his desk, placing the file and legal pad on it. He look at his watch casually. "11:20." He turned back and faced Talisa who had also stood. "Fancy an early lunch nearby, Tal?"

Talisa cocked her head slightly in surprise at his invitation. "Um, sure, why not? I cleared my whole morning and afternoon for this."

Rafael slipped his suit coat on and informed Carmen that he'd be back by 1pm at the latest as they walked out of his offices. "I have a favorite little place about a ten minute walk from here, if that's okay?" He asked Talisa as they exited the building onto the street.

"Sure. It's a lovely day for a walk anyways." Talisa agreed quickly and they fell into a comfortable silence for the duration of the walk to the restaurant.


	4. Chapter 4

Rafael and Talisa were seated inside and had given the waitress their orders. Talisa fiddled with the straw wrapper in front of her on the table. Wrapping and unwrapping it around her pointer finger as she took in the cozy ambiance in the small Italian restaurant and bar. "I can see why you like this place." She commented.

Rafael also swiveled his head around, as if taking in his surroundings. "Yeah, it's got a good vibe." His green eyes settled on Talisa. "So… _Oliveira_." He thickened his accent as he pronounced her last name with a flip on the 'R' and everything. She shivered imperceptibly at that in her booth seat. "What's the origin on that name?"

"My Dad is Brazilian. He came here when he was 20 on a student visa, married my mother and never left. And by 'here' I mean Virginia. That's where I was born and raised."

"Oh yeah? Do you speak Portuguese at all?" He asked with interest.

"_Sim, eu falo. Quase fluentemente_." She smiled at him.

"Huh. _Entiendes mi Español, entonces_? He fired back.

"I do, if you keep it fairly simple and speak slowly and completely. No dropping syllables off words or using slang." She decided to throw his own test back at him. "_E você? Entende um pouco do meu português por causa de saber falar espanhol_?"

"Ha. Maybe? I think you basically asked me in a longer fashion if I could understand you as well? However, I am mostly stealing that from context and the words _português y Español_." He grinned at his own cleverness.

"I appreciate your honesty." She smirked at him. "I think the pronunciation of words really throws Spanish-speakers. If you were reading it you wouldn't have too much of a problem."

"Interesting." He leaned back onto the booth padding.

"I'm just full of fascinating tid-bits." She let out a little laugh. "What about you, _Barba_?" She emphasized her accent on his name, trilling the 'R'. "What's your background?"

He gave her a full-blown smile at that question. "Cuban. Both parents. I was born here, though. Bronx, born and raised."

"I love it. We both have colorful, vibrant heritages."

He nodded in agreement. "So, you've only lived in the city for a few years? Do you feel at home here now?"

Talisa started ripping up the straw wrapper that she had still been twirling around her finger. "I really do. Coming here was the perfect change in my life at the time. This feels like _my_ city. _My_ home. If you get my meaning. Back in Virginia at my parents' house is _home_, but New York is my life, my home." She chuckled at herself. "I don't know if that makes any sense."

But Rafael was already nodding his head vigorously. "That makes complete sense. I totally get your meaning."

Talisa nodded thoughtfully. "Rafael, can I ask you something about Avery's case, or is that strictly _verboten_ outside of your office or the courtroom?"

"You can ask… I may or may not be able to answer."

"Right. Speaking in generalities, do you find that you are successful in these types of cases where you have a solid ID and strong witness testimony?"

"You want to know if I think I'm going win?" He leaned forward and laced his fingers together on the table.

"Well, yes. Are you feeling fairly confident?" Her hazel eyes sparkled a little as she asked this. She was pretty sure the man across from her was always confident. He definitely had that air about him.

"I can't make any promises, of course, but I do think this is a very strong case." He studied Talisa's face, taking in the smattering of freckles across the tops of her cheeks and bridge of her nose. The waitress came back then and slid their plates in front them.

"I guess that's good enough for me for now." Talisa picked up her fork to enjoy her pasta.

Rafael held the door open and let Talisa exit the restaurant before him. As he did so, he allowed himself a moment to admire her hourglass figure before she turned back to him as they stood on the sidewalk. "Thanks again for lunch, Counselor. It was nice to get to know you a little."

"Likewise. I hope your month ends well. Hopefully we will have a court date soon and this chapter of your friend's life can come to a close. Preferably on a good note." He gave her a genuine smile, but it was tinged with a bit of sadness.

She looked down at her feet briefly then looked up at him again. "I don't know if I can truly express how grateful I am about how amazing the DA's office and SVU have been during this whole process. I know Avery is sincerely thankful for everyone's kindness."

"I'm very glad to hear that. Bringing criminals to justice is only one of the satisfying aspects to my job. Helping ease victim's suffering and finding closure for them happens to be another."

Rafael extended his hand for her to shake, yet for some reason, unknown to even her, Talisa bypassed the handshake and reached both her arms around the ADAs shoulders instead. She was on the short side, 5'4" with her flat shoes on, so Rafael bent down a small amount and surprised even himself when he felt his arms eagerly returning her tender gesture. He certainly didn't mind the feeling of wrapping his arms snugly around her waist. He closed his eyes and gave himself permission to simply enjoy the contact.

After she had captured his shoulders securely, she nestled her face into his coat at the crook of his neck and shoulder. She held him tightly for a few seconds and leisurely inhaled his incredibly intoxicating scent. He smelled… expensive. She let out a soft, contented sigh.

Coming to her senses after a minute, Talisa felt a tinge of embarrassment at her flagrant show of affection and decided to back away. The tip of her nose lightly brushed his neck as she slowly and reluctantly pulled herself away from the delicious embrace.

She almost expected him to look a little angry or at least exasperated with her when she once again locked eyes with him. However, when Rafael's eyes met hers after the hug ended he just smiled at her with true understanding in his gaze.

"Wow. That was super cheeky of me, wasn't it?" She smiled back at him, marveling once more at the clear green color of his eyes. "Maybe I'll just blame it on my friendly Brazilian roots."

"No need to _blame_ it on anything. Nothing wrong with needing a solid embrace every once in a while. We are only human, after all." _He definitely didn't have any complaints_, he thought to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

It was Wednesday. Talisa looked up at the wall clock over the door in her small office. 7:27pm. She sighed as she picked up her phone and opened Reddit, scrolling through it without purpose. She'd had a few students stop by earlier since her class had been cancelled Tuesday, but things had waned in the last 40 minutes or so and she was feeling tired. As she considered bailing 15 minutes early, a sharp rap on the clouded glass inset on her office door made her look up and call out, "It's open! Come on in!" When no one entered after ten seconds or so, Talisa stood and crossed her office in about five steps, opening the door inward to let the knocker in. Instead she stared into an empty hallway and proceeded to poke her head out, twisting it left and right to scan the hallway in its entirety. _Huh_, she thought and as she took a step back to close her door she noticed a post-it note, bright pink, stuck just below where the cloudy glass ended on the wooden door. _YOU SHOULD MIND YOUR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS _was scrawled on the note in all caps. Talisa stood there, mouth agape, reading and rereading the terrible script. She slowly reached out to grab it off her door, then quickly jerked her hand back before touching it. _I should call the police_, she thought and left her door open, hurrying back to her desk. She snatched up her phone and stared at it for a second before walking around her desk and pulling her purse out from underneath. She rummaged around inside it, feeling slightly frantic, until she found the item she was searching for. She pulled out the business card and punched the number marked as 'cell' into her iPhone.

"Carisi." The familiar voice answered on the second ring.

"Hi. Detective Carisi. It's Talisa Oliveira. You know, from the Avery Riddle case?" Talisa rushed her words.

"Hey there, Talisa. I know who you are." He smiled into the phone. "Everything all right?"

"Um, no. No, it's not."

"What? What's happened? Are you hurt?" Carisi's voice betrayed a hint of panic.

"No, no, no, I'm f-fine. It's just – I'm at my office and someone has left me a note. A terrible note and I don't feel safe. Could – could someone meet me here and escort me home?" She stammered out.

"I'm leaving right now. Text me the building name and office number." Carisi said, grabbing his suit coat off the back of his chair and striding to the elevator.

"Okay. Thank you, detective. Thanks so much." Talisa hung up and immediately texted him the information. She sat down in her desk chair and slumped back, rubbing her face with her hands. She stayed like that for what felt like forever until she suddenly sat up straight as something occurred to her and she picked her phone back up and selected Avery out of her 'recent calls' list.

Avery answered after an agonizing minute. "Hello?"

"Hey, are you at home?"

"Yeah, I am. Is something wrong, Tal?"

"I'm not totally sure. Someone left a nasty note on my office door a few minutes ago and I just wanted to check in on you. Maybe you shouldn't go anywhere tonight."

"I wasn't planning on it, but I for sure won't. Don't worry about me! Are you walking home by yourself? I don't think you should, Tal." Avery's concern came through the phone speaker.

Talisa smiled, "You are sweet to worry; I have someone coming to walk with me."

"I'm sorry I got you entangled in this sordid mess, professor." Avery sighed.

"No, don't be. I'm certainly not. I'm glad I can be here for you." Talisa looked up to her open door as she heard quick footsteps echoing down the previously vacant hallway. "Seriously, don't mention it again, missy." She said teasingly as the owner of the footsteps appeared in her doorway. It was Detective Carisi looking slightly flushed. "Hey hon, my escort is here, so I'll text you when I get home later."

"Please do, my friend. Love you, be safe."

"Love you, be safe too!" Talisa ended the phone call and stood up.

Carisi was studying the post-it note on the door. "Sheesh," he said rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, "I hate to ask it, but you're sure this is about Avery's case? No other current grudges against you that you know of?"

Talisa smiled wryly, "You mean like are any of my students pissed about a bad grade on a test or paper or something like that?" Carisi shrugged. "No, no way. I personally know every last one of my students and there is no possibility in my mind that this came from one of them." She made sure that last statement sounded unequivocal.

The detective nodded as he finished putting on a glove and pulled an evidence bag out of his pocket, slowly peeling the sticky paper off the door. He slid the paper into the bag and sealed it. "Did you touch it?" He looked at Talisa.

"Nearly, then I thought better of it and called you instead."

"Great, we will check this for prints and touch DNA."

"I was hoping you could."

"Anything else seem out of place in here?" He swiveled on his heel and scanned her tiny office.

"Oh. Hum. Not that I really noticed." She also looked around then with a measured gaze. First at her wall of shelves, then at the chairs in front of her desk, downwards at her desk and laptop on it and lastly at the other wall that only held her degrees and another piece of art. "No, I'm pretty sure no one was ever inside here. I'm pretty OCD and think I would probably have detected if anyone messed with my stuff."

He grinned at that. "I know what you mean. Not that I'm particularly neat or anything, I just like my things where I like them." He had moved fully inside the office now and was looking at the books and items on her shelf-lined wall. He then pivoted and took a few strides to stand in front of her framed degrees hanging one on top of the other. He put both his hands on his hips as he spoke, "You have a doctorate from Georgetown? Wow. Color me impressed! Guess I should've been calling you 'Dr. Oliveira' this whole time, huh?"

"Oh please, Sonny," Talisa waved her hand, "you only need to call me that in public." She kept a very serious look on her face as she finished and concern briefly flashed across Carisi's face. Suddenly, Talisa felt very guilty for making him feel self-conscious, even if for only a second, especially since he had clearly rushed down here to her aide. She abruptly broke from her serious façade with a laugh, "Wipe the worry from your brow, my dear detective! I'm merely yanking your chain. I don't think I even identified myself as _doctor_ to you ever. How could you have known?" She smiled sheepishly at him.

"True, true. You got me for a minute, there, though."

She pressed her palm to her chest in mock offense. "Whatever you must think of me, Detective. Such a snob in my high tower summoning mere peasants to rescue me and then insulting them all the while."

He stepped in front of one of the chairs facing her desk and adopted the same affect to his voice as he answered. "You have wounded me, madam. I am no peasant. Not only am I a highly esteemed officer of the law, but a degree-holding, bar-passing, New York-certified lawyer." He got a proud look on his face at the impact his statement made on Talisa.

"Now I'm the one you can color a million shades of impressed." She had dropped the silly voice and drew out the word 'impressed' as she said it. "And if I forgot to say so earlier, seriously, thank you so much for coming here. Incredibly quickly to say the least."

His beautiful crystal blue eyes that had been sparkling as they teased darkened noticeably. "You had me pretty worried. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I got here."

"I bet it wasn't as lame as a pink sticky note with a vague threat on it."

"This isn't 'lame', Talisa, you did the right thing to call me straight away."

"I know, I know. But I'd rather downplay this whole thing than freak out about it." She sighed heavily. She felt very tired again all of a sudden.

"C'mon," he motioned with his hand towards the door, "Let's get outta here."

She gathered her things, locked her door and they headed out of the building.

She mostly looked out the window during the quick drive to her apartment. Preferring the comfortable silence that fell between them over inane chitchat or discussion of the evening's events. It only took three minutes to drive over, since it was barely a fifteen minute walk, but since he had come by car it made sense to drive. He popped out when he found a spot conveniently located in front of her place and hurried around to open her door. She didn't notice his intentions soon enough and pushed the door open in time for him to be leaning down with an outstretched hand. Barely skipping a beat, she took his hand and allowed him to pull her out of the car and up onto the curb. "Thanks." She blushed slightly, noticing unexpectedly how close she was standing to him and how he smelled very nice. A hint of earthy cologne and a waft of stale coffee, probably from his precinct, emanated from him. It was quite pleasant.

He leaned in even closer and swung the door closed behind her. "Can I walk you up?"

"I have a doorman, I should be safe at this point, Sonny."

"That's not what I asked." He quirked a brow at her.

"Heh. Fair enough. Yes, please. I'd actually feel better if you came in and looked under my bed and checked my closets." She was only half-kidding.

"You bet. Let's go."

Talisa nodded to Jake, the doorman on evening duty – by now it was 9 o'clock. "Hey Jake, this is Detective Dominick Carisi. Can you put him on my list? You can just let him on up when he comes in." Jake nodded with an affirmative grunt and turned to the computer. "Thanks, have a good night!"

Carisi followed Talisa to the elevators and she pressed the 'up' arrow. They entered the elevator and she tapped the number 16.

"16th floor, eh? Pretty fancy."

"16 is my lucky number. Also my birthday."

"Oh yeah? What month?"

"June. You?"

"Mine's in February."

Talisa bobbed her head. "Cool." The elevator door opened and they got off. She turned to the right and he followed behind as she pulled her keys from her purse. She turned the dead bolt and then the door lock and pushed the door open. Busy as she had been with the keys, she hadn't noticed Carisi removing his gun from its holster and pointing it downwards.

He reached out his arm and blocked her from entering the apartment. "Hold on," he commanded, "I'll go in first."

She watched from the front door as he moved in slowly and cleared the rooms one by one. Each time he disappeared through a door her heart paused until he would safely reemerge. Walking back towards her from the hallway he put his gun back away, hidden under his suit coat. "All clear. No one under a bed or in a closet."

"I didn't even realize you had that on." Talisa marveled.

Sonny smiled as she started flipping lights on. "That's the idea." She threw a smile his way. "I like your place. Three bedrooms. It's huge compared to mine."

"Thanks, I like to spread out."

He chuckled at that. "All right, I guess I'll leave you to your evening plans then."

Talisa had thrown her bag on her chair next to the sofa and was slipping her shoes off there too. "Oh, right. Do you have plans to get to? Or more work?"

Carisi checked his watch. "Actually, I'm off now and I'll probably head home."

"Well, let me offer you dinner at least? My way of thanking you for tonight. We could order in some Chinese food?"

He stared at her front door, obviously contemplating whether or not to stay. He _was_ hungry. "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Great! You can hang your coat up on the rack by the door and you can put your holster on the kitchen island. I feel a little weird now that I know it's right there." She added that last part with an awkward smile.

"No worries," he said as he complied with her instructions, "Not everyone is comfortable around firearms. My sisters certainly aren't."

Talisa had grabbed the take-out menu she was looking for and handed it to Carisi. "I already know what I want. Pick something and I'll call."

By the time the food came they had fallen into easy conversation with one another. She learned that he had three sisters and he learned that she was an only child. He was from Staten Island and she told him all about her childhood in northern Virginia. They had just gotten to the point where he'd learned her father was from Brazil when the door buzz signaled the food had arrived.

She dumped some broccoli and beef onto her plate and added a couple large spoonfuls of fried rice and sat cross-legged on her fluffy living room rug, using the coffee table to set her plate on. Sonny followed her lead and sat across from her. "So what part of Brazil is your dad from?" Carisi picked up their conversation where it had left off.

"Campinas. It's a couple hours' drive north of Sao Paulo. I've been back there about four times to visit his side of the family. Maybe five times…" She squinted her eyes trying to recall the various visits.

"That's pretty cool. Do you speak any Portuguese?"

"I sure do. Do you?" She reached out with her foot under the coffee table and teasingly poked him in the knee.

"Ha. I can toss around some Italian phrases, but other than that I'm completely monolingual. Say something in Portuguese." He stuffed a piece of sweet and sour chicken in his mouth.

"_Algo_." She teased.

"Very funny. I'm guessing that means 'something'." He used air quotes when he said the final word.

"_Certo. Você e bem esperto_." She giggled a little and took a sip of water.

Sonny rolled his eyes at whatever she had said.

They had finished up dinner and Sonny had helped her clear up the mess then re-holstered his gun and grabbed his suit coat from by the door. "Thank you again, for everything tonight, Sonny." Talisa unlocked and opened her front door.

"Just doing my job, ma'am." Carisi gave her one of his genuine smiles.

Before she knew what she was doing, Talisa had pushed up onto her tiptoes and leaned in towards him. She put both her hands on his shoulders and pressed her cheek to his, making a soft kissing noise beside his face. "A Brazilian goodbye." She clarified after she had leaned back away and saw the glazed look in his eyes. _Oh god. I probably shouldn't have done that_, she thought.

Before she could worry too much more about how inappropriate the gesture had been, Sonny seemed to recollect himself from the shock of her air kiss. "I love learning about new cultures." He teased.

She swatted him lightly in the chest. Before she could pull her hand away, however, he surprised her and covered her hand with one of his own and pressed it into his chest snugly. He took a step forward and she was certain her heart rate accelerated noticeably. "Be sure to call me if anything else comes up, okay Tal?"

Now she was the one with the glazed-over expression. "I promise." She said in a breathy whisper.

With that, Sonny dropped both their hands and backed up, turning to walk out the door. He strode down the hallway and pressed the elevator call button. Talisa stood, leaning against her door frame and waved at him as he turned and made eye contact before stepping onto the elevator and out of sight.


	6. Chapter 6

Halloween had come and gone and Talisa had kept herself plenty busy with classes and her research for a third article that she'd begun working on back in June. She was even toying with the idea of writing a book. _One thing at a time_, she chided herself. Nothing had turned up on the post-it note so far, but the rest of the case against Avery's assailant seemed to be falling neatly into place. Now here she stood in front of the imposing courthouse, taking a moment to stand and stare at the words written across the top of the pillars. THE TRUE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IS THE FIRMEST PILLAR OF GOOD GOVERNMENT it read in clear lettering.

"Inspiring, isn't it?" Came a familiar voice from behind her.

Talisa turned and the wind pushed her long bangs messily in the opposite direction. Rafael Barba reached up with his gloved hand and fixed the offending locks. "Thank you, Mr. Barba. And yes, I was just attempting to soak up a smidgeon of hope from that proclamation."

"_All the great things are simple and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope_." Barba smirked at her. "Churchill." He moved up one step in front of her then stuck his elbow out and looked back at her expectantly.

She grinned at his smugness and accepted his proffered arm by looping her own through the crook of his elbow and allowing him to lead her up the stairs. "_The law is what we live with... justice is sometimes harder to achieve_."

He glanced sideways at her face and noticed a small smile on her lips. "Who said that?" He asked.

Her smile turned into a little chuckle. "Sherlock Holmes. I'm afraid my quote bank is completely filled from pop culture."

He laughed along with her. "Nothing wrong with that." His face grew serious as he opened the front door of the building for her. "How's Avery doing?"

"Pretty well, I think. She feels prepared for today, thanks to you." She touched his arm. "What about you? Ready to do this?"

He paused and squinted his eyes a bit at her. "_I find your lack of faith… disturbing_."

At that she let out a sharp, "HA!" That startled even herself and clapped her hands over her mouth because it was a somewhat quiet and solemn atmosphere inside the courthouse. "Oh god, sorry!" She furtively whispered to him. "That just caught me off-guard."

His eyes danced with mirth. "I thought it might. And yes, I'm feeling quite good about today. You shouldn't have to wait too long out here. I believe Detective Carisi is the only witness before you."

As if speaking his name had conjured him from nowhere, the voice of Detective Carisi was suddenly behind Talisa. "Yeah, it's gonna be a pretty quick trial if you ask me. I don't know how the defense is going to insert any doubt into this one."

Talisa jumped a little and pivoted to the side to include Sonny into the conversation she was having with Rafael. As they spoke to each other in low tones about something her eyes bounced between the two of them. They were both incredibly handsome in very different ways. Rafael was shorter than Sonny, but had broad shoulders, tan skin and those striking green eyes. Sonny had a lankier build, but was still muscular and had soft pink lips and those crystal clear blue eyes. Both of them had hands that were large with long fingers. She found herself thinking about their hands and fingers in a less than appropriate way when she saw Avery enter the building behind the men. She shook the dirty thoughts from her mind and excused herself to go hug her friend and student.

"Hey there. Still doing okay?" Talisa held Avery's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"I am. I'm super ready to get this over with." She returned the squeeze.

Talisa looked over her shoulder. Mr. Barba had left to be seated in the courtroom and Carisi caught Talisa's eye and joined her and Avery.

"Miss Riddle." He greeted her and shook her hand. "I hate to say something cliché here, but just stay calm and everything's going to be all right. Mr. Barba really knows what he's doing." He smiled at them both.

"Thanks, detective, I really appreciate how wonderful everyone has been." Avery gave him a small smile.

He nodded in response then turned to Talisa and opened his mouth to say something when his name was called from the door to the courtroom. He threw a glance over his shoulder and turned back again. "Oh, well I guess I'm up. See you two in there." His long legs took him swiftly out of their sight.

Talisa grabbed Avery's hand and guided her to a bench just outside the room they would be entering next. Neither of them felt the need to say anything. Talisa watched the people coming and going down the busy hallway. In what felt like no time, but also like a lifetime, a man stepped out and called Talisa's name. She gave Avery's hand a final squeeze and stood to go in.

Talisa got down from the stand after the defense finished questioning her. It had all seemed so surreal. Rafael nodded at her as she passed him and Carisi noticeably scooted over on his bench to create a spot for her to sit next to him. She gratefully took it and he gave her a reassuring look. Everything was going great. Now it was Avery's turn. She had taken the stand and Rafael carefully questioned her, making sure her testimony was very clear and nothing was left to doubt. Talisa marveled once again at Avery's strength as the defense attorney feebly attempted to rattle her story. Before she knew it Barba had rested the state's case and the judge called to recess for lunch.

Rafael turned just his head and made eye contact with Talisa and then Avery and nodded at them with a satisfied look in his eyes.

"I think he's pleased with how everything went." Carisi had leaned down and said in Talisa's ear. She turned her attention to him and bobbed her head in agreement. Then she turned to Avery and signaled with her head for them to exit the room.

Avery had opted to not attend the portion of the trial for the defense and Talisa had instead suggested they duck into a nearby coffee house and wait it out. They hadn't been there much more than an hour when Avery got a phone call from Lieutenant Benson. When she got done with the call Avery relayed the information to Talisa. "Defense rested their side. Now we wait for the verdict from the jury."

"Any idea on how long that will take?" Talisa sipped her second macchiato.

"Lieutenant Benson didn't think it would be too long. Possibly even later tonight."

Talisa looked at her watch. "It's almost 4 o'clock now. I wonder how long they'll deliberate before calling it a night."

"Do you think we should continue to hang around here?" Avery put her chin on her palm and rested her elbow on the table.

"We could go for a walk? Find some actual food?"

"That sounds good to me." Avery quickly agreed.

They put their coats on and headed out onto the sidewalk.

The two women had ended up at a bustling American-style eatery. Talisa was picking at the remnants of the French fries on her plate and Avery swirled her straw around in her cup of Diet Coke. They'd been discussing the final paper that Talisa had assigned the class last week when Avery's phone buzzed on the table in front of her. She snatched it up and answered it. "We're not too far. We will be there in fifteen minutes." She said into the phone, tapping the end call button.

"Verdict already?" Talisa asked as she followed Avery's lead and scooted out of the booth.

"Yes, they are coming back. Let's go!"

They were all seated back in the courtroom, this time Avery was seated between Lieutenant Benson and Talisa, who sat on the end by the aisle. Carisi had squeezed Talisa and Avery's shoulders and sat down directly behind them. "…. On the sole count of rape in the first degree how do you find?" The judge was speaking.

The forewoman of the jury responded, "On the sole count of rape in the first degree, we the jury find the defendant… guilty."

Avery immediately turned to Talisa and threw her arms around her neck. "You did so great. He can't hurt anyone again." Talisa cooed into her ear as she swept her hand over her hair.


	7. Chapter 7

The semester had ended in a whirlwind. Then Talisa had enjoyed a relaxing Christmas and New Year's, simply staying in town and choosing to hang out with friends this year. Her parents had actually gone on a holiday cruise to Europe which she thought was adorable of them. Her Dad had sent her cute picture texts of him and her Mom at all the ports they stopped at doing touristy things. Now here she was, two weeks into a new year and new classes. It was Wednesday and she looked up from her desk at the clock above her office door and noticed the time; 5:34pm. She returned her gaze to her laptop and continued typing her thoughts. She typically didn't get a lot of students taking advantage of her office hours this early on in the semester, but she stuck to her schedule regardless.

She was mid-sentence in the line she had been typing when her thought was interrupted by a quick rap on her door. "It's open, come on in." She called out while not looking up to finish her paragraph. When she did look up a smile brightened her face. "Detective! How are you?" Her enthusiasm quickly dropped into her stomach when she considered the reasons for him visiting her. "Has something happened?"

He held up his hands and sat down in a chair in front of her desk. "No, no, nothing like that." He smiled warmly at her. "Sorry to worry you there."

"No problem. I'm glad everything's okay. Something I can help you with?" Now she was straining her mind for possibilities of his visit.

"Well, yes." He looked slightly embarrassed now.

"I'm at your service." She grinned.

"It's actually not work related… more of a social call."

"Oh?" She gently closed her laptop and kept her eyes on him.

Seemed like she enjoyed watching him squirm a bit. Her eyes danced as they stayed on him. "Yeah, I hope I'm not intruding too much on your office hours. I just remembered from your testimony that you'd be here during this time…" _Well, _that_ sounded weird and stalker-ish_, he thought.

"Of course not! That's why I stick to the same office hours year after year. I like to be accessible. For students or New York's finest." She grinned at him.

"Right. That's really great of you."

"Mmm-hmmm… and…" She waited for him to continue.

He chuckled a little at his own sudden shyness and looked into his lap and then back up at her gaze.

"Am I making you uncomfortable? Nervous?" She teased him a little. "I promise I'll be nice."

"Is that so?" She nodded at him. "I suppose I'm slightly intimidated. I think highly of you as a person and was hoping you might reciprocate somewhat… enough to join me for dinner?"

"Tonight?"

"Oh, um, that'd be great if you're free when you're done here. Or we could do something Friday night if you prefer?"

She felt her cheeks pink up a bit at his stated admiration of her character and obvious eagerness to go out. "I would absolutely love to. As long as you don't mind that this is what I'm wearing and you can wait until 8:15, I can meet you somewhere nearby tonight?"

He positively beamed at her and stood up. "Absolutely." He echoed her word. "I'll pick a place and text you soon."

She stood as well and followed him to the door. "I'll see you at 8:15."

She shut the door behind him and stood there for a minute grinning to herself like an idiot. _This was a very nice surprise, _she thought. She'd thought about Sonny here and there since the whole trial had concluded about two months ago. Honestly, she'd thought about that ADA occasionally, too. She'd felt she'd made small connections with both of them, but had let herself slowly forget about them. She'd convinced herself it was all due to the intense situation they'd been in and shared together. _Obviously not_, she thought, heading back to her chair.

Talisa had received Sonny's text around 6:30pm and knew she could walk to the restaurant in about twenty minutes, so she decided to pack up with ten minutes left before 8pm.

She'd grabbed her bag and dashed out, swiftly pulling her door shut and turning the key in the lock. She'd been quietly humming _The Sign_ by Ace of Base when she turned to leave and to her utter shock collided with a gorgeous navy blue, wool, button-up coat and the gorgeous man who was inside it. "_Nossa_!" The Brazilian exclamation slipped from her lips in her moment of shock. "Mr. Barba! You scared the hell out of me!"

"Sounds like some sort of irony for a religion professor, no?" He steadied her from their collision and added. "My apologies for the surprise, I thought I'd catch you inside."

The strange coincidence of him being there mere hours after Carisi hit Talisa like a ton of bricks. "What's going on here? Am I being _Punk'd_?" She feigned looking around the hall for someone watching them.

"What do you mean?" He looked genuinely confused.

Talisa had a brief inner debate on how much to tell him. "Nothing… I just had an off day, is all." She smiled at him.

"Ah. Well, I hope you don't think this too forward of me, but I wanted to come by in person and ask you out to dinner."

Her eyebrows shot up. "You did?"

He laughed at her reaction. "I did. Is that so hard to believe?"

"No, that's not it. I actually thought maybe we made a connection before." She pursed her lips and gazed at him from under lashes. "It's just that, well, full disclosure, someone else asked me out today, too. Hence my surprise at a second invitation in one day."

"Oh I see…"

She continued quickly, interrupting him, "Just so you know, is all. I absolutely want to go out with you." Talisa reached up and squeezed his bicep through his coat.

"Excellent." Rafael's face lit up. "Is your other date this coming weekend?"

"No, it's not…"

"Can I see you Saturday night then?"

"That works great for me." She felt giddy.

"Okay, I'll text you for your address. Pick you up at 7:30?"

"Perfect."

Rafael had walked with her out of the building and instead of chancing that he'd offer to walk her to her destination, she hailed a cab for the short drive. Her mind raced on the way to the restaurant._ What were the chances_? She hadn't been out on a date that she'd been truly excited about in ages and all of a sudden she had two offers in one day. She decided to try and put Rafael out of her mind and focus on Sonny while they were together and vice versa for Saturday.

She got to the agreed upon location right on time and walked in to the dim atmosphere of an Irish pub. She spotted Sonny immediately and joined him at his table. "I thought for sure you'd choose an Italian place." She joked as she kissed his cheek hello when he stood to greet her and then sat across from him.

He smirked and said, "I like to be unpredictable. Keeps things fresh."

_God, he was cute_, she thought. "I appreciate that." She nodded her head.

The waitress came then and took their drink order. Talisa chose white wine and Sonny had a beer that was on tap. Their conversation flowed just like it had the night they had eaten Chinese food in her apartment. He was funny and sweet and Talisa found herself staring at his pink lips more than once.

After dinner and two and a half glasses of wine, Talisa was feeling buzzed as they exited the restaurant. "I had a lovely time." She said sincerely.

"Me too. Can I hail you a cab?"

"Oh, no. I'll walk, it's not far." She gestured in the direction of her building. She could almost see it.

"I remember where it is. It's getting pretty late," he check his watch, "I'll walk with you. It's almost 11 o'clock."

"That's not necessary, but very chivalrous. I'd love the company." She hooked her elbow through his and leaned into his tall frame.

In no time at all they stopped in front of her revolving doors. Talisa decided she wasn't quite ready for the night to end, so she grabbed Sonny's coat lapels and pulled him down while simultaneously pushing up to her tiptoes. He got the hint and closed the gap to her lips in a flash, wrapping his arms around her waist. She positively melted into the soft, sweet kiss they shared. "Detective," she breathed as they parted a bit, "I would very much like it if you would come up and kiss me on my couch for the rest of the evening." The alcohol was giving her a touch more boldness than usual.

His eyes got big for a second, but instead of answering he leaned back down and kissed her warmly once more, eliciting a small moan from Talisa's throat. "Please tell me that's a _yes_?" She pleaded.

He nodded and put his hand at the small of her back to guide her into her building.

They maintained propriety until the elevator door closed. He had immediately turned to her and trapped her against the elevator wall with his body. Her hands slipped beneath his coat and suit coat to stroke his sides through the crisp, white dress shirt he had on. Carisi's hands had cupped her face along her jaw, then slowly gone up into her hair as his lips pressed into hers. Talisa practically pushed him out of the elevator when the doors opened and he didn't seem to notice. They stumbled out and she broke the kiss to pull him eagerly behind her towards her apartment. He gripped her waist impatiently while she fumbled a bit with her two locks. Once the door opened she turned back around and pulled him in with her. She stopped what they were doing once more to lock the door and throw her coat and kick her shoes off, Carisi followed her lead. He also removed his suit coat and his hands went to loosen his tie.

"Oh no, I'll take care of that." Talisa purred while swatting his hands away and grabbing the knot.

Sonny seemed just fine with that and let her lead him by the tie that was still in her grasp to her couch.

She went to the far end of the sofa and sat, leaning her back against the arm rest and pulling Sonny partially on top of her. She finished loosening his tie and removed it, tossing it aside. His warm hands came around her and up the inside of her blouse, practically covering her entire back. Talisa threaded her hands into the soft hair at the base of his neck and pulled his face to hers. His kisses were tender and sweet against her mouth as she matched his intensity, keeping things slow and easy. She let her hands drop from his neck and smoothed them over his shoulders and biceps, then brought them around to his throat to fumble with his top shirt button. She managed to undo it and the next two without breaking their kisses. His hands had come more to her sides and he stroked his thumbs down her ribcage, making her shiver.

He broke their kiss to look into her eyes, "Sorry, ticklish?" He grinned.

She shook her head, "Not really, no. It was just involuntary because this feels amazing." She bit her bottom lip and tilted her head up as he leaned back into her.

He kissed her passionately this time and sucked at the bottom lip she had just bitten. Then he moved from her mouth and trailed his kisses down her throat, stopping to suck here and there. She had her hands on his chest and was enjoying trailing her hands up and down his form, memorizing how he felt. Sonny found his way to her earlobe and sucked at it. Talisa moaned a little and brought her hands around him to scratch lightly down his back and pull his chest flush to hers. He sat up somewhat abruptly and grabbed her hips, pulling her towards him until she was flat on her back and no longer leaning on the arm rest. He hovered over her, watching her face for a moment then pressed himself back over her and continued to kiss and nibble his way over her face and neck.

She didn't know how long they continued like this, but savored every minute of his attention and showered him with the same affection until she had to stifle a yawn.

He smirked. "I hope I'm not boring you now."

She brought a hand to his cheek. "Hell, no." She yawned again. "Ugh, sorry. I think that might be our cue to call it a night."

Sonny sat up and pulled her with him then he glanced at his watch. It was just after 1am. "I guess it _is_ a school night." He beamed at her with extra pink and kiss-swollen lips.

She grinned back, feeling slightly euphoric. Sonny kissed her cheek and stood, pausing to scoop up his tie. Talisa followed him to the front door. "You'll call me?" She batted her eyelashes at him as she stood by the door and watched him put his shoes on.

"You can bet on that, beautiful." He slipped his jacket and coat on and pressed a final kiss to her amazing pout and slipped out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

Talisa hadn't been too overly tired for her Thursday afternoon class and had breezed through Friday and Saturday afternoon, almost on a cloud. She had thoroughly enjoyed her date with Sonny, but was immensely looking forward to seeing Rafael tonight. She returned to her apartment building around 6:30, after some shopping, and started to head up to drop off her items and change before her date arrived at 7:30. She didn't make it to the elevator, though, because Andrew, who had the afternoon shift at the front desk called her over.

"Someone dropped this off for you a few hours ago." He stated, offering her a plain white envelope with the words _Dr. Oliveira_ in script on the front.

"Thanks, Andrew." She said cheerfully, accepting the letter from him and then making her way up to her apartment. She set her things in her walk-in closet for now and picked out a favorite pair of black skinny jeans and a draped silk blouse in a deep maroon color. She hoped jeans wouldn't be too casual, she was pretty sure Rafael would show up in one of his well-coordinated ensembles.

Talisa checked her hair in the mirror, spraying a touch of hairspray across her bangs to make them stay. She added a touch of her favorite Burberry perfume to her wrists and lastly she freshened up her mascara and lip gloss and decided she looked attractive, smiling at her reflection. It was past 7 now and she wandered back into the kitchen to drink some water from a bottle on the counter when she saw the envelope she'd tossed on the island.

Grabbing it and tearing it open with her pointer finger she pulled out a yellow sticky note. She froze in place as she read what was written on it. Her mouth gaped and she felt bile rise in her throat._ Oh, no, no, no,_ she thought. She dropped both the envelope and the note like they were on fire and backed away from her kitchen island.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there, dumbfounded, until there was a knock on her front door. Talisa nearly jumped out of her skin and stumbled over to the door, checking who was there through the peephole before opening it for Rafael.

He stood there with a smile until he fully took in her face. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Is everything okay?"

"No! I'm freaking out!" Talisa blurted and walked back into her apartment, leaving Rafael to awkwardly follow her inside and shut the door behind him. She went and sat on her couch and put her head between her knees, breathing heavily.

"Can you tell me what's happened?" Rafael just wanted to make sense of what was going on. He walked over and knelt down in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She lifted her gaze to meet his and raised a hand to point over at the island counter. He glanced over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Talisa put her face in her hands started to cry. "Another note." She sobbed out.

Rafael stood and strode over to the counter. He immediately saw the dull yellow sticky note and the words written on it in all caps: _YOU ARE A MEDDLING BITCH_. "Where did it come from?" Rafael asked from across the room, turning to face Talisa.

"I don't know exactly - Andrew at the front desk said it was dropped off for me earlier this afternoon." She choked out the words, adding, "I touched it, I didn't know what it was."

He hurried back to her and sat down next to her on the couch. He pulled her into his chest and rubbed her back soothingly. "Don't stress about that, nothing ever came back on the other note, so this one will probably turn out the same."

"Shit. I'm so sorry. This is not the night I had envisioned." She said, sitting up and wiping under her eyes.

"No need to apologize. Do you think it's best to call someone now? I think it would be all right if you wanted to wait until tomorrow."

She managed a small chuckle. "Trying to keep our night from being further interrupted?"

He smiled tenderly and brought a hand to her cheek. "I just don't think 12 hours will matter much. We could just stay here, order in some food and watch a movie?"

Talisa's heart was still pounding noticeably in her chest, but now she wasn't so sure it was about the note. She liked Sonny a lot, but Rafael really did something to her when he looked at her this way. Her stomach was full of knots, her hands were almost numb and her cheek tingled under his light touch. She surprised even herself when she leaned in fully and pressed her mouth on his in an ardent kiss. He wasn't really kissing her back in the way she had hoped he would, even dropping his hands to his sides. She pulled back a touch and locked eyes with him. "I'm sorry… do you not want to kiss me?" Suddenly she was running all their moments together through her mind and wondering how she had read this all wrong. _I'm an idiot_, she thought.

"What? Of course I want to kiss you, are you crazy?" He pushed at her bangs, tucking a strand behind her ear. "I just wasn't sure if you were doing it because you are upset or because you feel something for me." He sighed.

Talisa felt her face soften. "I am upset, but that doesn't change the fact that I've wanted to kiss you like crazy since I first met you in your office."

With those words of encouragement ringing in his ears, Rafael cupped her face and returned the kiss she had given him, savoring the taste of her lips. Talisa rushed to deepen the kiss, sucking on his bottom lip and reaching her hands up into his soft hair, threading her fingers through it and scratching lightly at his scalp. Rafael took her cue and let her push him back into the couch cushion, throwing her right leg over his lap and straddling him. He massaged his hands over the back of her silk blouse and pushed his tongue into her mouth, making her release a small moan. She took her hands out of his hair and sat up, breaking their kiss, and slowly unbuttoned her shirt. He maintained eye contact until she finished unbuttoning and slid the shirt from her shoulders, exposing her black lacy bra. His eyes traveled down to appreciate her beautiful body on display to him now. After a long moment he leaned forward and brushed his lips over the soft flesh of her décolletage. Her head fell back and her eyes closed, allowing herself to fully enjoy the sensation. Rafael reached up to the back of her neck and brought her mouth back down to his, rubbing his hands up her sides and then brushing his long fingers over her lace-covered nipples, making her shiver. As he pinched at a nipple and continued letting his tongue explore her mouth, she ground down on him and both of them moaned at the feeling of his erection rubbing into her center. She broke their kiss, panting, and leaned her forehead on his. "Bedroom?" She invited him in a breathy voice full of desire.

"Yes." He agreed immediately and followed her as she stood, discarding his suit coat, vest and yanking his socks off before he made it into her room. He was working on his tie when she reached her bed and turned to face him.

"You do the tie, but I get the suspenders." She smiled at him under her long lashes.

He smiled back and nodded, finishing undoing the knot of silk and tossing it aside. She motioned him to step towards her with a crook of her finger and smoothed her hands over his shoulders and down the front of his chest and back up again. On her second pass down she fingered the suspenders and then gripped them, pulling him into her. He'd undone his top shirt button when he removed his tie, so she found his throat and kissed down and over his pulse point. She felt him hum in pleasure as she did so and it gave her a little thrill. While pressing firm kisses across his jawline and down the other side of his throat, she undid the rest of his shirt buttons and slid the suspenders down his arms, languidly brushing over his biceps and forearms as she did so. Meanwhile, he'd found the clasp of her bra and undone it, exposing her upper body completely as it dropped off her. He took a step back to admire her properly and hurriedly tore off his undershirt so he could press their naked torsos together and claim her mouth again. "So fucking beautiful." He murmured into her mouth and felt her lips twitch up. Talisa reached her hands between them and undid her jeans, shimmying out of them as best she could while continuing to furiously kiss Rafael. As soon as she kicked them off she pulled him close again and passed her palms over the muscles of his back. She spun them, careful not to trip over his feet and gently pushed him onto the bed. He scooted so he was fully on her king-sized bed and she climbed to hover over him on her hands and knees, kissing both his cheeks and then his nose. She then sat up over his thighs and undid his suit pants, helping him tug them off as he lifted his pelvis. Once his legs were freed from his pants she trailed her fingers over his strong thighs and held his erection through his boxers, stroking it a few times and then stretching her upper body back over his. He watched her and wrapped his arms around her back as they continued to kiss with passion. When Rafael felt her begin to wriggle her chest against his for friction he gripped her tight and rolled them so he was on top. He moved down her body and took a pink nipple into his mouth, flicking it lightly with his tongue. She was so wound up that it only took the one flick for her to groan above him.

"Oh god, yes Raf." She gripped his shoulders and dug her short nails in. Rafael smirked and moved to her other breast and gave it the same appreciation, while tugging at the opposite nipple. Talisa writhed beneath him, feeling a real need to come, but not wanting to beg. He got the hint without her urging him on with words and kissed and licked his way down her abdomen, stopping agonizingly above her clit to look up at her face. She felt him pause and found his gaze. He was staring up at her heatedly and she nodded at him, "Please, Rafael." He smiled and returned his focus to her hot core and began to tongue her slick folds, opening her slightly with one hand to swirl around her clit. She moaned in pleasure and slid her hand through his hair, tugging slightly to guide him occasionally. "Oh fuck, that's it." She began to tremble and saw stars behind her tightly closed eyelids as Raf's tongue alone made her come, hard. She tugged harder at his hair when she had come down and was too sensitive for his touch any longer. He moved back up her body, licking and kissing as he went and finally planting a soft kiss to her mouth.

He smiled at her, "Feel okay?"

"More than okay." She returned his smile and reached down between their bodies, finding his erect member and stroking it. Her other hand scratched lightly down his back and she moved from his cock to gently squeeze his balls.

After a few minutes of alternating between squeezes and long strokes he managed to say, "God… okay, okay, that's enough if you want to finish this the right way." He groaned and pushed her hand off him.

She giggled a little, "The right way?"

"You know what I mean." He moved to kiss her neck and position himself between her legs.

"Wait!" He tensed up at her sudden outburst. "Night stand, top drawer." She smiled and pointed over his shoulder.

He relaxed and nodded, grabbing a condom from the drawer and quickly rolling it on. He eased himself into her slick opening and watched her face. He stopped when her breath hitched and she winced. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You are so goddamn tight. Doing all right?"

She gasped as he continued to ease in, "Yes, it's good. Feels so good. It's just been a little while for me. Keep going, Raf."

He felt himself bottom out and groaned as her tight walls clenched down on him. "Fuck. I'm not sure how long this will last."

She pulled his mouth to hers to kiss him tenderly. "Everything is perfect." She whispered against his mouth. With that he finally began to thrust, pulling out almost completely and pushing back in with gusto. "Oh Jesus, Raf. That's it, don't stop." She purred in his ear.

Her words egged him on and he continued to pound into her, quickening as he went with shorter strokes. She brought her knees up and then dug her nails into his back and her mouth went slack as another orgasm hit her. "_Mierda, _Tal,_ estás tan perfecta así_." His thrusts became erratic and he felt his own release come over him and grunted into her shoulder as he finished and collapsed onto her.

She brought her hand to the hair at his temple and then kissed his cheek as he slid to the side and out of her. "Wow." She panted a little, catching her breath.

"Yeah, I'd say so." He turned and grinned at her. "Don't move, okay?" She nodded and he got up to toss the condom in her bathroom and returned, pulling the comforter and sheets down. "Shall we?" He asked with a hopeful grin.

"Yes. I was hoping you wouldn't leave."

"Of course not. Are you feeling better?" He asked as he covered them with the sheets and wrapped his arms around her.

"Much. This feels incredible." She snuggled her back into his chest. "What do you think I should do with the note tomorrow? Take it to SVU since it's connected to the other case?" She asked him.

"I think that would make sense. Olivia will know what to do with it." He kissed the back of her neck. "Been on your other date yet?" He asked out of the blue.

She chuckled a bit. "I have."

"Was it.. did it.." He trailed off.

"End like this?" She attempted to finish for him. He stayed silent behind her. She rolled over and faced him, wanting to look in his eyes. "I kissed him, but we didn't take it further than that." She paused. "I was thinking maybe I'd break it off with him next time I see him… what do you think?" She looked up at him through her lashes shyly.

His eyes lit up. "I wasn't going to suggest that, but I do think it might be for the best."

"Oh?" She grinned at him now.

"Yeah, you are going to be pretty busy from now on." He pulled her into his chest and kissed her hair.


	9. Chapter 9

She awakened as she normally did, when the first sliver of light filtered past her curtains and blinds into her room. Except today something else also disturbed her... the delicate snores coming from the man beside her. Not that she minded. She smiled as she observed him. He was on his back, propped up at an angle by two of her pillows, gently snoring out of his partially opened mouth. Talisa was in her preferred sleep position, on her side, with an arm under the pillow her head was resting on. She was facing him and propped her head up a bit to watch him easier. He really was attractive, even more so now with his morning stubble coming in and the relaxed expression on his features from sleep keeping his face smooth. Tal couldn't help herself and brought a finger to his temple to play with the hair at his sideburns. It was laced with silver and she stroked it for a minute, kind of surprised he didn't wake. The sheets were just over his stomach, leaving his chest exposed. She admired his body for a moment then pushed her hand into the chest hair that peppered his front. It was soft and mostly dark, but also had some silver strewn through it. She wondered briefly how old he was. Talisa was turning 34 this coming June and tried to do some quick math about law school and what she remembered him saying about being a lawyer for 'over twenty years'. So… 45, 46? She was still rubbing his chest, calculating how old he might be when his hand covered hers.

"Hey there." He said, smiling with his eyes still closed.

"Hey yourself." She answered back as he squeezed her hand softly.

"How long have you been up?" He asked, snaking his other arm around to caress her upper back.

"Only long enough to know you snore in a really cute way."

"Well that's a downright lie." He huffed and opened his eyes. She giggled as he scooped her into his arms and pulled her fully onto his chest. He kissed her head as she nuzzled her nose into his neck and inhaled his scent.

"It's a lie that you snore or that I think it's cute?" She asked into his neck adding a soft kiss under his ear.

"I do not snore." Rafael murmured and turned his face downwards, reaching to cup her chin and bring her face to his. He brushed his lips over hers and sighed. "You are a vision in the morning."

"Ha ha, don't be ridiculous. Short hair is nice for styling quickly, but after a night's sleep on it I look like a crazy person." She'd gotten self-conscious as soon as he'd said something about the way she looked.

He grinned and reached a hand into her hair, pushing it further out of control. "I like it crazy. Looks like you had a good time last night."

"Hmph." She snorted. "Well, I'll give you that." She allowed a small smile to crack through. "Today's Sunday, right? Let's go get a fancy coffee around the corner and then come back here and..." She sucked on his ear lobe instead of ending her sentence with words.

He hummed in agreement sliding one of his hands down to her backside and squeezing the ample curves, making her moan softly into his ear. "I would love that," he readily agreed, "but I do need to run home to my apartment for a few things."

"Work?" She had moved from his earlobe to kiss his jawline and hovered above his lips.

"Yes." She had crossed her arms to support herself on his chest and kept their faces a breadth apart. He moved to press his lips to hers, but she kept them out of reach.

"On a Sunday?!" She made her voice sound exasperated.

"Oh, like you've never graded a paper or written a lecture on a Sunday before?" His green eyes shone with amusement.

"Absolutely never. Innocent until proven guilty." She smirked at him. He raised one of his eyebrows and opened his mouth to say something, but she didn't let him. She kissed him firmly, moving her arms to push both hands into his hair.

"Objection." He said when their lips parted. "Defense is clearly attempting to distract the prosecution."

She shook her head. "Overruled."

"On what grounds?" He demanded with a mock look of surprise on his face.

"Nope, that's all the law-jargon I had. I'm tapped out, Counselor." She planted another kiss on him.

He laughed when they broke apart this time. "Well, good try. Let's go get that fancy coffee and swing by my place so we can come back here and…" It was his turn to tease her and he kissed her hard and let one of his hands wander up and find her breast.

She gasped into the kiss as he fondled her breast and felt her entire body beginning to respond to his touch. "Okay, you win, I'm too turned on to stay here anymore." He grinned with triumph as she pushed off his chest and rolled out of bed to put on some clothes.

They walked back into her apartment after successfully gathering some work files and a change of clothes for Rafael. Talisa kicked off her shoes and hung her coat up then went to sit on the living room sofa. "Need to work on your stuff right away?" She asked as she watched him drape his spare clothes over her arm chair and slip his shoes off by it. He was still wearing what he'd been in when he arrived last night, not having felt the need to change since they were just coming back here for the night.

He dropped the folders on the coffee table in front of them. "I should, just to be sure they actually get done." He smiled as he sat down.

"No problem, I'm going to go change real quick, make yourself comfortable." He nodded and slipped out of his suit coat and began opening files.

Tal sat with her right leg tucked up into her and her left leg lazily draped over Rafael's lap. She was reading – or had been – and he was looking at a file in his lap in front of her leg and writing on a legal pad beside him. Her back was against the arm of the 3-seat couch and he was seated on the middle cushion. He was writing with one hand and intermittently running his hand up and down her bare calf. Tal was in her lounge clothes. Soft shorts and a tank top that said _Everything I Say Will Be on the Exam_. He had only shed his suit coat and vest, leaving him in his suspenders and loosened tie. She'd left him alone with his work for a couple hours now, but as she took in his appearance she bit her bottom lip and became fully distracted from reading. She allowed her hot gaze to wander over him unabashedly. _God, he was handsome_. The line of his jaw, the hint of stubble that appeared there, his strong shoulders. Then there was always her favorite: his gorgeous green eyes… that were now looking at her amusedly.

"Can I… help you with something?" He questioned her.

_Uh-oh_. She'd been caught for the second time today. She grinned at him and answered in a playful tone, "I'm certain of it." At that he dropped the pen from his right hand and brought it to her face, stroking her cheek with his long fingers. She leaned in and kissed him gently, running her tongue along his lower lip lightly but pulled away before it could deepen. "I was just thinking about how dreamy you are and how incredibly lucky I am," she admitted without him asking.

He quirked an eyebrow at her, "Oh?" She pushed his hand away and grabbed the file out of his lap, setting it down with his legal pad on the coffee table. She added her other leg across Raf's lap and scooted herself as close to him as she could get without actually sitting on him. She took his jaw into both her hands and brushed her thumbs across the light stubble. She shivered a bit at how intensely he gazed at her in this moment. It almost took her breath away. He reached a hand up and pushed her long bangs away from her eyes and then started to clasp her wrists in his hands but she stopped him.

"Nuh-uh. Hands off, you dirty old man." His eyebrows popped up in feigned offense and he began to retort, but she covered his mouth with hers before he could. The kiss was sensual and soft, her tongue exploring his at first then pulling away to nibble his bottom lip again and trail kisses off along his jaw. He sighed a bit and his hands came up to stroke her shoulders. She immediately broke off what she was doing, "I thought I made it clear: hands to yourself, please. Don't make me go look for something to tie you up." She smirked at the semi-dumbfounded look in his eye.

_This was new_, he thought. "Okay, okay," he held up his hands in surrender, "I'll behave." He made a show of lifting up each side of his body to tuck his hands underneath his butt.

"Much better." She now adjusted herself into a position where she was kneeling into either side of the couch, straddling his lap. Her face now a head or so above his own. Her hands went to his tie knot and made quick work of loosening it completely and then removing the silk from his collar. Next she undid the top four or five buttons on his baby blue dress shirt. She kissed his mouth again and then his chin and jaw and down the side of his neck and onto his collarbone that was now exposed. He still smelled faintly of cologne and his skin tasted salty as she turned her kisses into licks and sucks. She was pretty sure she felt his heart rate speed up under her tongue at the pulse point in his neck she was paying particular attention to. As if to confirm her thoughts, he let out a brief whimper as she sucked a little harder on the spot. "Did I find a good spot? Hmmm?" He nodded and she looked up to see his eyelids had closed. "Too bad that spot might be noticeable at work... not far enough under your collar. Guess I'll just have to keep searching for a nice spot to mark you as mine." With that she pushed his suspenders from his shoulders and reached down to untuck his shirt from his pants and undo the remaining buttons. She pushed his shirt from him as well and began to place wet kisses along his shoulders and the tops of his pecs.

"_Dios mio_." He breathed out. She loved it when his brain got scrambled enough that both Spanish and English phrases tumbled out of him haphazardly. His sighs and moans fueled her own need and she moved to kiss him deeply on the mouth again, plunging her tongue inside. Rafael couldn't hold back and he had pulled his hands from under him to caress both of her breasts through her tank top. He was pleased to discover she was braless. She groaned into the kiss as he pinched her nipples.

As the haze of desire cleared a bit she broke the kiss and protested, "Hey! What did I say about your hands?"

He looked up at her sheepishly, still gently squeezing her chest. "What can I say? I literally cannot help myself." One of his hands traveled up to the back of her neck and guided her head back down to continue the passionate kiss while the other hand left her breast, skimmed over her abdomen and landed on her thigh. He slid up her thigh into the fabric of her shorts and pushed her panties aside, slipping two long fingers into her slick folds.

"Fuck. _Merda. Deus do ceu_." She couldn't pick one expletive, they all seemed necessary as his fingers worked their magic. She let her head fall back and as such, her breasts were right in his face, which he took full advantage of. He quickly pushed her tank top up to expose her chest and fully enveloped a nipple in his warm mouth, circling her areola with his tongue. As he continued this treatment of her breasts, he had pushed his fingers deeper and had inserted one carefully inside her hot core. "Jesus, Raf, I'm not going to be much longer."

"Take whatever time you need." He said as he released a nipple and gazed up at her. He loved her face all flushed and eyes dilated like this. He pulled her face back down to his and kissed her softly, then let her go so he could continue to watch her fall apart under his ministrations. He added a second finger inside of her and she gripped at his shoulders. "Too much?" He checked.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out and instead she shook her head 'no'. He smiled and found her clit with his thumb. "Ah! Oh Rafa, yes, that's it. _Nao para, nao_." It was her turn to have a scrambled brain and toss out English and Portuguese non-discriminately. He took her right over the brink and she saw stars behind her closed eyelids as she rode his hand and gasped, clutching as his shoulders. He slowed down and she all but crumpled into his chest and whimpered as he gently pulled his hand out from between them and held her close, pressing her into him. When her ears stopped ringing she tilted her face up at his from the crook of his neck. He felt the movement and leaned down to kiss her softly, stroking her face with one finger. She felt all wobbly, but pulled her legs out from under her and planted her feet firmly on the floor, grabbing Raf's hand and pulling him behind her into the bedroom. He grinned like a horny teenager behind her and reached out with his free hand to give her round ass a swift squeeze.

She yelped in surprise and turned when they reached her bed, her hands immediately going for his pants button and zipper. He stepped from his suit pants as they pooled at his feet and Tal dropped to her knees in front of him, palming his obvious erection under his boxers. "Let's set this guy free, hmm?" She tugged his boxers down and he stepped from them as well, using her shoulders for support. Raf tangled his hand in her short hair and she dragged her tongue from the base of his shaft to the end and then took his head in her mouth. She swirled her tongue around him a few times and then licked his slit, tasting the precum that was beginning to drip from him.

"Shit, yes. That feels amazing, Tal." He praised her and she smiled, moving her hand to cup and fondle his balls, applying mild pressure. She passed her tongue on the underside of his cock, along the vein there, and her other hand reached around him and palmed his perfect butt. She gave it a light slap and took his head in her mouth again, continuing to fondle his balls. She was sucking his head hard, occasionally tonguing his slit when he grabbed her somewhat roughly by the arm and tugged her up to him.

"Oof!" She exhaled as he kissed her once and pushed her back to fall onto the bed behind her. She must have looked fairly surprised because once he had climbed on top of her and was about to crush his mouth onto hers he stopped cold.

"Sorry, shit. Was that too rough? Did I hurt you?"

Talisa searched his mortified expression for a moment. "Not at all, you just surprised me."

He sighed in relief, "Sorry, I just had to be inside of you all of a sudden."

She gave him a pleased look, wiggled out of her shorts and undies, and motioned downwards, "Then by all means… continue." He grinned at her and maintained eye contact as he easily slid into her wetness. He began to thrust at an even pace and then repositioned himself slightly to grab her left leg and pull it all the way up, letting her ankle rest on his shoulder. Talisa was fairly flexible and the position allowed him to plunge deeper into her, enhancing both their pleasure. She arched her back as his pace had sped up and he was rubbing inside her at an angle that was making her vision blur around the edges. "Oh yes, that's it, you've got it. You're making me cum again, you beautiful man." She murmured at him, clutching at his sides. Then her inner walls clenched around him and his movements became erratic as he pumped his seed deep inside her.

"Fuuuuuck." He groaned out and briefly collapsed on top of her, then slid off to the side and pulled her close against him.

Talisa snuggled in as close as she could get and sighed contentedly. She had things she needed to worry about, but decided to leave them for tomorrow, letting Rafael's warmth comfort her for right now.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning Rafael had needed to get going before Talisa so she made coffee for him while he showered and brought him a cup into the bedroom when it was ready. He'd toweled off and put his boxers and undershirt on in the bathroom before he exited. "I wasn't totally sure… black?" She questioned, handing him the cup.

"Sometimes with a sugar, but black is great, too." He gratefully accepted the cup, taking a long sip. "What?" He asked as she watched him.

"Just feeling disappointed I didn't catch you naked." Her mouth quirked up on one side.

Rafael set his mug down on the nightstand and moved towards her. He put both hands on the sides of her face and solidly kissed her mouth. She opened her mouth and let his tongue dance in while sliding her hands down his back to cup and squeeze his backside.

He pulled his face back and grinned at her. "Straight for my butt, huh?"

"Hey, I have absolutely no qualms in saying yours might be the most perfect ass I've had the pleasure of holding." She teased back.

He pulled her flush against him then, and put his mouth to her ear. "You are the most perfect _everything_ I've ever had the divine pleasure of touching." He whispered huskily to her and then bent his neck to kiss hers.

_Sweet mercy_, she thought as electricity zinged down to her toes from the kiss on her neck.

Unfortunately, Rafael had needed to get dressed and head to his office, so Talisa had sent him on his way with another kiss at her door and then proceeded to get herself ready. She was just finishing the final touches on her hair when she heard her phone chime. She glanced over at the screen to see it was a text from Raf.

RB: _Made it to work_.

She smiled and picked up the phone. When she opened the text messages to write him back she noticed the blue bubbles signaling he was still writing her, so she waited.

RB: _I'm not sure why I felt the need to check in… ha ha_

She chuckled to herself and typed out a response.

TO: _Totally fine. I like knowing where you are._ =)

RB_: I forgot to ask – you are taking that note to Olivia today, right? Don't forget_.

TO_: I am. I'm not sure I could forget about it. Though you did an excellent job at trying to make me last night._

RB: _Anytime. =) Let me know what Liv says_.

TO: _I will. Thank you. _

Talisa sighed and gathered up her things, including the note and envelope that she and Rafael had put in a Ziploc baggie on Saturday.

On her Lyft ride over to the SVU station she sifted through some emails and then returned to her texts. She went to the thread with Sonny and reread the messages they'd sent back and forth after their date on Wednesday.

SC: _Just wanted to say I had a great time last night_. –Sent Thursday 4:08pm

TO: _So did I. Planning on asking me out again?_ –Sent Thursday 4:22pm

SC: _I've been seriously considering it. =)_ –Sent Thursday 5:16pm

SC: _Okay, I think I waited long enough, dinner tomorrow night?_ –Sent Thursday 5:18pm

TO: _=)_ –Sent Thursday 5:23pm

TO: _I would really love to, but my weekend is jammed as of right now. Next week instead?_ –Sent Thursday 5:24pm

SC: _No worries. I'll text you Monday?_ –Sent Thursday 5:47pm

TO: _Yes, please. =)_ –Sent Thursday 5:59pm

Talisa smiled as she reread the exchange and nervously bit her lip as the car pulled up to the station. She checked her watch as she got out. It was 11am on the nose. As she stared at the entrance she realized she hadn't exactly planned out anything to say to Sonny. The thought of turning down a date with him made her stomach drop a little. He was sweet and handsome and she found herself remembering the kisses they had shared on her couch. She smiled and touched a finger to her lips at the memory. _Damn_, she thought, shaking the thoughts from her head and entered the station.

After getting off the elevator she headed down the hallway and turned into the bullpen. She immediately noticed Sonny sitting at his desk with his back to her. A blonde detective who was facing her stood as Talisa entered and came towards her. "Can I help you?" The detective asked with a southern drawl.

"Yes, I need to hand over some evidence on an existing case." Tal said and started digging into her purse to get the book she had put the bag with the envelope in, so it wouldn't be smushed.

Carisi had turned at the sound of her voice and stood closing the distance between them in a couple strides. "Another note? Why didn't you call me?" He asked, his voice laced with both concern and exasperation.

Talisa pulled the baggie from the book and gave it to Sonny. "Yes, it's another post-it note. And I'm sorry, I probably should have called. I got the envelope Saturday evening and was just upset and I didn't want to ruin everyone's weekends…" She trailed off lamely. "I touched it this time, to open it. I didn't realize what it was until after." She added.

Sonny nodded as he took the bag. "It's probably okay, the other note didn't have any prints, so this one is probably clean, too." He glanced back at Rollins who was standing a step behind him. "Uh, Talisa this is Detective Rollins. Rollins, this is Talisa Oliveira – from the Avery Riddle case."

Talisa stuck her hand out and shook Detective Rollins' firmly. "Pleased to meet you."

"You too." Rollins replied.

"Uh, Dr. Oliveira, I'll take down your statement in the conference room." Sonny picked up a tablet off his desk and put his hand on Talisa's shoulders, guiding her.

The conference room they walked into already had the blinds down and shuttered and Carisi had barely shut the door when he engulfed Talisa into an embrace. His warm, tender arms around her made her feel cared for and safe all at once.

"Jesus, I'm sorry this is happening to you. Are you doing okay? Why didn't you text me at least?" He blurted out, passing his hands over hair and down to rub her back, soothingly.

"I'm okay, Sonny, I promise. It rattled me at first, but I'm okay." She hugged him, burying her face into his shoulder. He'd discarded his suit coat on his desk chair and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

Carisi pulled back and cupped her face, the way Rafael had that morning. He leaned in and softly brushed his full lips over hers and then moved up and kissed her forehead. "Why didn't you call?" He asked again gently.

"I didn't want to worry you. I felt safe in my apartment. I just didn't think it was necessary and I know you guys are busy here." She grasped his wrists and pulled his hands down and held them between their bodies. She stared down at their hands.

"Well that's just silly."

Her head snapped up to look at his face. He was gazing sweetly at her and leaned back in to plant another kiss on her lips. He pulled his hands from her and brought them around her back again, pulling her closer. Talisa melted into the familiar feeling of his arms and accepted the deepening kiss.

Abruptly, the conference door swung open. "Carisi – oh shit, sorry!" Rollins held her hand up as if to shield her gaze. "Carisi, Liv is back and wants the info on that note." She smiled as she backed out of the room and shut the door.

Carisi and Talisa had both jumped back from each other when the door opened and he grinned sheepishly at her. "Sorry, I had better actually take your statement."

"Right." Tal concurred and sat at the table.

When all the details had been given first to Sonny and then to Lieutenant Benson, Talisa stood to leave. Olivia stuck out her hand and Talisa took it. Olivia placed her other hand on top of their hands and said, "Don't worry about this, we'll get to the bottom of it."

Talisa smiled at her and gripped her hand tightly, "I have every confidence that you will."

She headed out of the conference room and nodded at the blonde detective, Rollins as she passed. Rollins gave her a small smile and nodded back.

Sonny jumped up from his desk that he had returned to when Liv had swapped places with him in the conference room. "I'll walk you out." He threw on his suit coat and walked with her to the elevator.

Once they got on the elevator and the door closed, Talisa noticed Sonny grinning to himself. "What's the smile for?" She asked.

"Oh, you know, just remembering the last time you and I were in an elevator." Talisa's heart skipped a beat. _Shit_.

"About that…" Talisa started as the doors opened.

Sonny put his hand on her lower back and guided her back out onto the street. It was cold and he folded his arms across his chest as they stood on the sidewalk. "Yeah about that…" He smiled at her and leaned in, placing a warm kiss to her cheek. "Tomorrow night sound okay? I've been missing you."

_Say no, say no, say no_ her brain screamed at her. "Sure." She smiled back at him. _Great work_, her brain thought to her lips.

"Great. I can't wait, but I'm freezing so I'll text you later, K?" He kissed her other cheek and headed back into the station.

Talisa turned and started walking uptown. _What is wrong with me?_ She internally kicked herself. It hadn't escaped her notice that Rafael and Sonny worked together, quite frequently at that. _I'm an idiot, this isn't going to end well_. She pulled her phone out as she walked and sent Rafael a text.

TO: _Lieutenant Benson took my statement and everything. She said they'll be on the case._

She pocketed her phone and continued to walk to try and clear her fuzzy brain.

After her class on Tuesday afternoon, Talisa headed home to change into a purple, knit, long-sleeved dress that came to her knees and a pair of high-heeled black boots. The dress had a v-neckline and she added her favorite bird-of-paradise flower necklace. It was gold and her parents had given it to her when she graduated high school. Birds-of-paradise had always been her favorite flower. She fingered the necklace after she fixed the clasp. _What am I doing?_, she wondered for the millionth time, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

Her phone chimed then and she grabbed it off her bed.

SC: _I'm downstairs, want me to come up to get you?_

TO: _No, I'm on my way_.

Talisa smiled as she stepped off the elevator and saw Sonny's tall figure standing in her lobby. He spun when he heard her heels striking the tiled floor and his features lit up when he took in her appearance. "Wow, you look stunning." He gushed genuinely.

She felt her face flush. "Thanks." She looked him up and down. He wasn't in a suit for once, opting for dark slacks and dress shirt with a soft-looking, royal blue sweater over it. "You don't look so bad, yourself." His camel-colored coat was in his arms and he shrugged it back on as she approached him. She stopped in front of him and he smiled, bending down and kissing her lips tenderly.

His eyes seemed to bore into her and she couldn't pull her gaze away. "Something wrong?" He asked.

"No." She paused hesitantly and then reached up and placed her hand behind his neck, pulling him back down for another kiss. "That sweater really brings out your eyes." She said when they had parted and she found herself staring again.

He laughed and grabbed her hand, hooking it through his arm as they walked out of her building.

"How are your classes this semester?" Sonny asked as they had their food set down in front of them by the waiter.

"Oh you know, it's early on, but I've got another great group of students. I'm lucky in that everyone who takes my classes really wants to learn the subject." She explained as she twirled her angel hair pasta on a fork. He'd brought her to an Italian place this time.

"That's nice. I don't think I'd ever have the patience to teach anyone anything." He admitted and took a bite of his chicken parmigiana.

"The patience award probably goes to middle school teachers." Talisa joked.

Sonny chuckled at that. "That's probably true. I was a real shit at that age."

Talisa grinned. "Who wasn't?"

"Oh." Sonny started, as if he'd remembered something, pointing his fork toward her. "I spoke to your front desk attendant when I arrived at your building earlier. I asked him about the person who brought the envelope for you."

"Oh yeah? Did Andrew remember anything significant?"

"No, he actually couldn't recall. He sort of thought the envelope was just left on his desk. He couldn't remember a person handing it to him."

"Huh. Well that figures." Talisa sipped at her wine.

"I asked him to pull the security tape from that day and night, though. Saturday, right?"

Talisa slowly set her glass back on the table. "The tapes from the lobby? You're going to watch them?" She felt a panic creeping up the back of her neck.

"Yeah, I'll grab them when I drop you back at home. Andrew said he'd have them by tonight for me."

_Fuck_, she stared down at her pasta for a minute then decided she had to tell him.

Sonny glanced back up at her, noticing how quiet she had become. "Something wrong?"

"Yeah…" Talisa started, but stopped, dropping her face into her hands.

"What is it? You can tell me." Sonny reached across the table and grabbed one of her hands and clasped it in both of his on the table.

"I just want you to know, this isn't like me at all." She exhaled heavily and looked up at him.

"Okay, go on." He nodded at her in encouragement.

"The day you came to my office and asked me out, remember?" He nodded. "Well, you weren't the only one to stop by and ask me on a date that day."

His eyes widened slightly. "I wasn't?"

"No. It was a strange coincidence, but someone else had the same idea as you and I agreed to go out with him as well."

"Saturday night?" Sonny confirmed what he already assumed to be the case.

"Yeah." She put her other hand on top of his. "I'm really sorry, Sonny, I never do this. You know, dating two people simultaneously. I just really liked both of you and felt like I owed it to myself to go on a couple dates with both before I told one of you 'no'." She felt herself rambling and choked a little on her words.

He waited until she finished and had met his gaze again. "Don't put so much pressure on yourself. It's not like we are 'exclusive'." He raised one hand to make air quotes around the last word. He smiled at her sincerely, "I'm not mad, if that's what you're worried about."

Talisa let out the breath she'd been holding with a _whoosh_ and felt a tear slip out of her right eye. Sonny reached a finger out and wiped it away. She smiled sadly and knew she had to continue on. "There's more…" She wasn't sure how to tell him this part.

"Okay…" He tilted his head to the side curiously.

"You know the other man." She blurted it out in a rush of words.

"I do? Who is it?" He asked, raising both his eyebrows in surprise.

She pursed her lips together and brought one hand to pinch the bridge of her nose for a moment. "Shit."

"Come on, don't keep me in suspense." He squeezed her hand and she looked at him. He was smirking at her and didn't seem to be lying, he wasn't mad. _Yet_, she thought to herself. "Look, you can tell me now, or I can watch it on the tapes later…" He smiled wider.

"Okay, okay." She sighed again and locked eyes with him. "It's Rafael." She divulged and then added, "Barba."

"Barba?" He quirked an eyebrow at her and then pushed his bottom lip out in thought. "I guess I can see how that happened." He paused for a beat. "Did he hit on you while he was _briefing_ you?" He waggled his eyebrows at her and emphasized the word 'briefing'.

Talisa pulled her hand out of his and leaned across the table to punch Sonny on the arm. "No, you idiot, for pete's sake, don't be ridiculous." She allowed herself to relax a little as she sat back in her chair.

"Ow! Assault of a police officer!" Sonny exclaimed, laughing and picking his fork back up to take another bite of his neglected meal.

"You really aren't mad?" Talisa searched his face as he chewed the bite he'd taken.

He held up a finger while he finished chewing and then said, "Of course not." And shook his head side to side slowly. "Wait." She stopped as she was about to put a bite of food into her own mouth. "Does Barba know you and I are dating?"

"Well… yes and no. He knows the bit about two people asking me out on the same day. And that I said 'yes' to both of you. _BUT_," she stressed the word, "he does not know it's you, Sonny. So, please don't tell him. I think I need to do that." She put her forkful into her mouth and waited for a response.

"I won't say anything, I promise." Carisi watched Talisa for a second then asked, "Got any idea as to who you'll dump yet?" He gave her a lop-sided grin.

"I don't want to 'dump' anyone." She rolled her eyes. "Can't I just enjoy seeing both of you for a little while and make decisions later?"

Carisi raised both his palms up toward her in surrender and Talisa's phone buzzed on the table next to her. "Who is it?" Sonny asked mischievously.

"Sonny… _pelo amor de deus_." Talisa groaned in Portuguese. He just grinned at her over his next forkful of dinner.


	11. Chapter 11

Talisa and Sonny chose to walk back to her apartment through Morningside Park for a more leisurely stroll. He chatted to her breezily, but noticed she was keeping quiet. "…and then I took my umbrella and pretended to joust the guy and threw mint chocolate chip ice cream at the other dude." He spouted a bunch of nonsense on the end of the story he was telling her.

"Mmm-hmmm." She agreed non-committedly.

He halted them on the path, pulling at her arm in the crook of his to stop her short. "You aren't listening to me, are you? Where are you?"

"What? Oh geez, I'm sorry, Sonny. I was just thinking about something."

"I can tell that. What's up?"

Talisa put her hands on Sonny's elbows and pulled him towards her. "Can we talk about it later?" She asked him in a sultry tone. She stood on her tip toes and leaned into his chest with her own. Sonny leaned down to close the distance and placed his lips over hers in a firm kiss.

He broke the kiss before it could get too intense. "Hmmm… distracting me with more kissing, huh?"

"Is that a problem?" She reached up and threaded her fingers through the hair at the base of his neck.

"Not particularly." He murmured against her mouth.

Sonny had offered to walk Talisa up to her apartment after collecting the tapes from the desk attendant. She had politely declined, telling him she would invite him up next time. Sonny had kissed her in front of the elevators and headed out into the night.

Talisa sighed as she kicked off her shoes and hung up her coat when she entered her apartment. She checked her watch. Almost 10pm. She flopped onto her couch and pulled out her phone, selecting Meredith from her favorites list and turning on the speaker. She needed to talk out what she was feeling with a good friend.

"Tal? Everything okay?" Her best friend and colleague's voice answered the line.

"I don't even know anymore." Talisa exhaled sharply, putting the phone on the couch then lying down with her face by it.

"What's up? You need to talk?" Meredith prompted her.

"Yeah. Hope I'm not calling too late?"

"Nah, I'll just wander out into the family room so I'm not disturbing Kevin. He's watching the news."

"Okay, no problem." Kevin was Meredith's husband. They also had two cute little kids, who Talisa was sure were asleep at this hour.

"All right, shoot." Mer said when she sat down in the arm chair in her living room.

"Well, remember when I told you about the two men from Avery's case asking me out last week?" _Had it only been a week? _Talisa marveled internally.

"Of course. The impressive ADA and the cute detective? How could I forget?! Spill the beans, how'd the dates go?"

"They both went great. Better than great, really. I think that's part of the problem."

"Go on." Meredith urged her.

Talisa let out a small sigh. "My date with Sonny was very nice. Ending with some prolonged kissing on my couch. My date with Rafael… began awkwardly." Tal omitted the reason why and continued, "But ended with a real, how shall I put it… bang." She smirked at the phone and giggled a bit.

"Oh really? Gotta say, Tal, I'm a little shocked to hear that. You haven't been serious with anyone in a while." Meredith replied. "Not that I'm judging you, of course." Talisa almost heard her smile.

"I know, I know. That was pretty impulsive of me. In my defense though, I felt like I knew him pretty well even though that was technically our first date." Talisa smiled back.

"Again, no judgement here." Meredith paused. "So what's the issue? Trying to decide how to juggle them both or what?"

"Ugh. I definitely don't want to do that. That's certainly not my style!" Talisa groaned in frustration, smothering her face in a throw pillow.

"Okay, what's your plan then, girl?"

"I wish I knew. I'm more or less just winging it day-by-day."

"Well, I'm sure things will work out for the best."

"That's a horribly cliché thing to say. How dare you spout such trite remarks at me and call yourself a true friend, Mer." Talisa put on her best offended tone.

"Ha, I'm not even sorry. You poor thing, having the attention of two handsome, stable men at the same time…" Meredith laughed. "This burden is all yours to bear."

Talisa joined her in the laugh and rolled her eyes at herself and how ridiculous she sounded. "Oh my god, you're right." She let their laughter die down and then continued. "Dammit. I think I just like them both and know I will feel awful about ending it with either one of them."

"I get it, but it's only been a week. I don't think you have to decide anything yet." Meredith paused. "Do they know about each other? They work together sometimes, right?"

"I actually told Sonny about Rafael tonight. He didn't seem to mind. Next I suppose I'll have to tell Raf that I didn't break it off with Sonny yet."

"Oh you told the lawyer you were calling it off with the detective?"

"Sort of. Well, yes. In the afterglow I might have said something to that effect."

"But you didn't do it. Why not?"

Talisa kicked her feet on the couch. "Oh shit, Mer, if you'd looked into his baby blue eyes and tried to say 'no' you would know how impossible it is."

Meredith chuckled at that. "Okay, okay, you are totally smitten."

"One hundred percent." Talisa admitted. "Well, I'd better let you go. Thanks for letting me vent."

"You bet, Tal. I'm not sure you figured anything out, but I hope you feel better."

"I do, thanks friend. Good night."

Talisa groaned sleepily into her pillow at the sound of her phone chiming and waking her up. She reached out a hand and pulled her phone to her face to check the text.

_SC: Good morning. Feeling better today?_

Talisa smiled and typed a quick response.

_TO: Much. Any news for me?_

_SC: Viewing the tapes now. I'll let you know. Dinner later?_

_TO: Two nights in a row? =)_

_SC: A man's gotta eat. ;)_

_TO: So romantic. You've convinced me. Pick me up at my office 8pm._

_SC: It's a date._

After her talk with Meredith and making another date with Sonny, Talisa had decided she needed to have a discussion with Rafael – she felt like she owed it to him to fully disclose everything. She swallowed hard as she walked into his building and headed for his office. She hadn't called beforehand and hoped to just catch him working. She greeted Carmen as she entered the outer office. "Hi, I don't have an appointment, but I was hoping to have a few minutes with Mr. Barba. If he's available?"

Carmen looked up from her computer and smiled warmly, "Dr. Oliveira. Nice to see you. He's gone downstairs, but should be right back. I'm sure he'll have a few minutes for you when he gets back. Have a seat if you'd like."

Talisa nodded. "Thanks, I will." She took off her black pea coat and hung it up. Then she headed for a chair and smoothed down her black pencil skirt as she sat. She'd worn a button-up silk blouse in a baby blue color that was tucked into the skirt and had her favorite red heels on. She'd barely crossed her legs when Rafael blustered into the offices.

"Any calls, Carmen?" He was reading a file in his hands and didn't even look up or wait for the answer as he blew right by and into his interior office. Talisa smiled to herself and stood up. Carmen also stood and leaned over her desk, handing Talisa the slips with his missed calls and motioned with her head for Talisa to go on in after him.

Rafael was standing with his back to her leaning over his table when she entered. "Looks like you had three calls while you out." Talisa walked over and put the slips on his desk, turning and leaning against it.

Rafael spun on his heel and his face brightened when he saw her. "Hey! This is unexpected. Did you call?" He strode towards her, stopping in front of her and putting a soft peck on her lips and his hands on her upper arms.

She smiled and brought a hand up to stroke his cheek. "I didn't, I was just hoping to catch you for a few minutes."

"For you I have," he glanced at his watch, "a whole handful of minutes." He grinned and leaned down again, kissing her hard and she reciprocated, allowing his tongue to push in and tease her own. His hands moved slowly up and down her arms, but she placed her own on the desk behind her to brace herself as his weight shifted over her body. The kiss lasted several long, delicious minutes.

Talisa sighed when he pulled back and she stared down at her shoes instead of looking him in the eyes. "Can we sit?"

"Of course, _querida_." Rafael turned and shut the door and then followed her to his couch. "Is something wrong?" He asked softly, taking one of Talisa's hands from her lap and pulling it into his own as he sat.

He was making light circles in her palm with his thumb while he waited for her to respond. "Not exactly." She paused and finally found his gaze. He nodded at her to continue. "I just haven't been very honest with you and I'm feeling sick about it."

"Oh?" Talisa noticed a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"What's funny about this?" She demanded, feeling slightly irritated that he wasn't taking things seriously.

"I'm sorry, you are just so sweet. We've only been out twice – no one is completely honest at the beginning of relationships, right? I promise I'm not trying to make light of your feelings." His eyes sparkled at her.

Talisa narrowed her eyes at him. "I guess you're right. But this feels a little different." She sighed again. "I haven't broken it off with the other guy I've been seeing."

"Ah. Well, I have to admit, that stings a bit. You have feelings for him?" Rafael's eyes turned serious now.

"That's the thing, I just don't know yet. How I feel about him… how I feel about you. I mean, I obviously like you a lot." She rambled and found herself staring at her hand in his lap.

"That's okay. I mean, yes, I'd obviously prefer to have you to myself, but I never asked that of you… if I remember correctly, you offered." He squeezed her hand.

Talisa exhaled loudly. "I know, I know. That's why I'm feeling so terrible about all of this. Then there's the other thing."

"What other thing?" Rafael asked, curious.

"Who the other guy is… it's someone you know."

"Well now I'm definitely intrigued." Raf cocked his head and gave that little half-smile of his, "Carry on, I'll be fine. _Quién es_?"

Talisa scrunched up her nose and shifted her weight on the couch. "It's Detective Carisi. We've been out twice since last week and have another date tonight."

Rafael's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Carisi? Detective Carisi?" Rafael dropped her hand and stood, pacing several times before turning to look at her again. "Carisi." This time it wasn't so much a question as a confirmation.

Talisa nodded and winced when he turned and paced the room a couple more times. "You're pissed off. I should've just told you it was him last week when you both came to me."

Rafael stopped pacing and came back over and sat down next to her. He let out a huff. "No, no, I'm glad you didn't because I probably would have backed off right then." He took her hand again and made eye contact as he continued. "And I don't want to back off."

Talisa sucked in a breath. "I don't want that either, Rafael."

He smiled broadly at her and kissed her cheek. "Okay, then. I suppose our current situation won't remain this way indefinitely. I'm willing to give you some time to come to the realization that you belong with me and only me." He gave her a sly smile.

_Oh this man_, she thought and grinned back. "Always the confident one, huh?"

As a response, Rafael cupped her face with both hands and kissed her again, sending electricity to her fingertips as she slipped her hands inside his suit jacket and gripped at his sides. A knock at the door stopped their activity before it could get too pornographic. Rafael threw his gaze to the ceiling as if to say, _Why God?_ He stood and pulled the door open as Talisa rose from the couch and grabbed her purse to leave. She figured she should probably let him get back to work.

Talisa immediately recognized the voice she heard as the door opened. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt a meeting, Carmen said you'd be about finished." It was the southern accent of Detective Rollins… with Sonny right behind her. Amanda smiled when she saw Talisa and walked into the office with her hand outstretched. "Dr. Oliveira, right? Good to see you."

Talisa shook Amanda's hand and waved her other one in the air between them. "Please, call me Talisa. It's good to see you too, Detective." Meanwhile, Sonny and Rafael were standing behind Amanda, staring at one another. Talisa was watching them over Amanda's shoulder. They hadn't said a word to each other yet, both of them standing in the doorway. Talisa nodded and smiled at Amanda again and moved around her to stand in front of the two men. _Well, this was fucking awkward_. After a moment she glanced at Raf and said, "Thanks again, I'll be waiting to hear from you." Unsure of what else to do she cleared her throat and turned to Sonny. "I'll see you tonight?" His face lit up and he nodded as he moved to clear the doorway so she could exit.

Sonny watched her hips sway in her curve-hugging skirt as she left, grabbing her coat off the rack in the outer office before she was out of sight completely. His head jerked back to the two people with him when Amanda broke the silence. "What am I missing?" She asked looking between Barba and Carisi curiously.

"Irrelevant to the case at hand. Now tell me, how can I help the NYPD today?" Rafael was quick to answer, brushing aside the matter with a final hard look at Carisi.


End file.
